Curriculum
by Penguin-sama
Summary: Yuuri isn't sure he's happy about his new area of study, but everyone keeps insisting it's necessary. Eventual shounen-ai/yaoi. Yuuram.
1. Prologue

A (hopefully) quick author's note before I begin: this is just a silly little plot bunny that bit me while I was watching season 3, so please don't take anything too seriously. I'm new to this fandom, so be forgiving if I make some mistakes. I am not, however, new to writing. If you want to get to know me a little better before attempting to read, go check out my profile.

Disclaimers: I suppose, considering the series, that there really shouldn't be much need to warn for eventual shounen-ai/yaoi? But then, I would also think there would be no need to mention the fact I don't own any of the characters.

Prologue

* * *

"Ah! Your majesty!"

Yuuri stopped short just inside the room, a feeling of terror dropping into his belly like a heavy stone. Gunter was pale from blood loss, the skin under his nose still smeared with red. The wide grin that spread itself across his face was a truly terrifying sight.

"I've been _waiting_ for you!" the silvery haired man gushed.

The young king took a wary step back, hands already rising defensively, mind working frantically to find an excuse for getting out of his studies today.

"Um…" he began masterfully.

Somehow, Gunter failed to see reason behind Yuuri's rock-solid logic. His hands closed around the youth's slim shoulders and he eagerly steered him to the desk – which seemed to be laden with even more books than usual.

"Oh, how I've been _yearning_ for this day, your majesty!" he wailed joyously, forcing him down into the chair. It was easy to forget that Gunter could be surprisingly strong when he wanted to.

"Eh…" Yuuri argued intelligently.

Gunter clasped his hands under his chin, gazing at him with a look that, frightfully, could only be described as 'shiny'.

"By the laws of our land, your majesty is an adult now," he said. "And as you are an adult, it only stands to reason that your wedding will not be long forthcoming."

"Ah - !" he protested articulately. His engagement, and the idea of his eventual marriage, were things he avoided thinking about whenever possible.

"Considering your majesty's new status as an adult, and with the upmost sensitivity to your majesty's future, I, your most _humble_ servant, as well as your most _loyal_ follower, have single-handedly taken on the task of re-inventing the curriculum for your majesty's study!"

Did he just…_squeal_?

Was his nose beginning to bleed again?

"That doesn't sound like fun," Yuuri managed at last, watching a thick, crimson line slowly trail from one elegant nostril. He felt too frightened and nauseated to bother to feel pride that he'd finally managed to get a sentence out.

Gunter tsked at him and hefted a stack of books onto the desk to join those already there. "We're going to have _such_ fun, your majesty!" he assured him. "And what luck that I have you all to myself for our first special lesson!" squealing again, he dropped yet another stack of books onto the desk.

And to think Yuuri had actually been _happy_ to have the morning to himself!

"Um…" he whimpered plaintively, and felt a moment's disapointment that he was back to single-syllables.

"Oh, your majesty! There's so much material to cover and so little of our precious time!"

_Thanks the gods_, Yuuri thought.

What he said was, "Er…?"

"Well, we'll just have to stay on this subject for several _weeks_!" Gunter decided, clapping his hands. He began to look through the books, trying to decide where to begin.

"Weeks?" Yuuri echoed. There was that nausea again.

"Well, it _is_ a very important subject, your majesty!"

"Is it…" Yuuri shuddered at the thought. "Wedding etiquette?"

"Ah!" Gunter answered, finding the book he wanted. It was small, bound in red leather, and covered in gold gilt. "Here you go your majesty – we'll start with this one!"

He accepted the book, and felt himself pale as he read the title.

"Gunter…"

"We'll start with chapter one!"

"What is this?"

"And after you finish reading, I have a diagram for you to label!"

"Gunter, this is…?"

"Ah, what joys await the young mind!"

" '_The Art and Practice of Manly Love_'?"

* * *

Comments are both encouraged and appreciated. Please be warned, however, that I try to answer all reviews.


	2. Chapter 1

So much love for everyone who reviewed the prologue. I hope you enjoy the chapter and decide to stick around. As some of you might have noticed, and more of you will soon, I try very hard to answer all reviews, even the short ones. You can ignore the responses if you like, but it's just my way of showing that I appreciate the support. Reviewers who don't sign in, your responses are located at the end of the chapter.

Disclaimers: don't own it and never will. This fic contains male/male relationships and suggestive dialogue.

* * *

Bright green eyes stared at him – bold, challenging, unblinking.

Merciless.

"_This_ is what you've been whining about?" Wolfram demanded at last, closing the book Yuuri had thrust at him upon entering the room and dropping it before the distraught king. With a cruelly disdainful noise, the blonde moved around the desk to take a seat in one of the chairs on the other side. "What a child!"

"How can you say that?" he'd honestly expected Wolfram to be furious when he found out about the new 'special' classes. The only reason he'd been so eager to tell him had been the hope that he could use his fiancé's jealous streak to his own advantage for once. He'd been sure that Wolfram would go into a rage, demand the lessons desist, and set all of those gods-awful books on fire.

Clearly it had all been a fool's dream.

"Didn't Gunter explain it to you already?" he demanded. "A thorough knowledge of the carnal workings of the body is necessary for someone of your station! It would bring shame to your family _and_ mine if you did something to hurt me after we were married. Learning this stuff is your _responsibility!_"

"Y…you're talking about _sex_?"

Wolfram huffed and muttered something under his breath. Yuuri thought he may have heard the words 'big' and 'baby' somewhere within the content of the grumblings. He blanched.

"B…but…" he attempted to protest.

Wolfram wasn't going to allow it. "Wars have been fought over things like this!"

"Did _you_ have to have these 'special lessons'?"

"Of course not."

"See? Then why should _I - ?"_

He stopped him with a piercing look. "_I_ wasn't engaged when I hit adulthood. _I_ had to have the _complete_ lessons!"

"Complete - ?" Yuuri looked at what seemed to be miles of books laid out on the desk before him, then shot his gaze back to the boy sitting across from him. "You mean this is the _abridged_ version?"

"Of course," the Look Wolfram gave him made it perfectly clear that he thought he was being an idiot. "You'll be marrying _me_. You don't _need_ to know what to do with a _woman_."

Yuuri didn't know how to even begin to argue with that statement.

Instead he held up one of the drawings Gunter had given him. "Look at that! You can't honestly tell me you want to do something so disgusting!" frilly pink nightgowns and jealous streak aside, Wolfram was otherwise a normal, healthy, mostly-sane boy. Wasn't he?

The blonde looked at the picture and his expression softened a little. Yuuri felt a flash of hope as his fiancé hesitated.

"Yuuri…you're holding it upside-down," Wolfram sighed at last.

"Huh?" he forced himself to glance at the picture once more and wondered how it could possibly be any less terrifying turned the right way. With no small bit of dread, he flipped the picture. "Huh."

"See? That's not so bad, is it? Wimp."

He squinted and un-squinted his eyes, tilted his head first one way, then another.

"Doesn't that…hurt?" he asked finally.

"That's what the lessons are for!" Wolfram was losing his patience again.

The idea _kind of_ made sense – in a twisted, this-would-never-fly-back-on-earth kind of way.

"It looks like it'd hurt no matter what," he decided, continuing to examine the drawing. "Have you ever done this?"

Wolfram hesitated. "No."

"Have you ever done _any_ of it?"

"No."

Yuuri stared at him. Face going crimson, Wolfram looked away.

"Consider my position!" he said proudly. "The pool of available candidates with an acceptable social rank is limited!"

"Social rank?"

"I would never embarrass myself by going beneath my station! And – and anyway, I'm still very young by our standards!"

"You're a virgin," Yuuri giggled. "An eighty-something-year-old virgin."

Those emerald eyes glared at him with fiery fury. "_Yuuri_!"

He didn't have time to continue teasing him, or to realize that he needed to shut up before Wolfram realized that Yuuri himself was in a similar situation – minus several years, of course. Gunter arrived, every bit as excited as he'd been yesterday, and carrying with him yet another tall stack of books.

"Good morning your majesty!" he greeted cheerfully.

His smile faltered a little when he spotted Wolfram and realized that he would not have Yuuri all to himself today. Wolfram, in fact, _usually_ maneuvered it so that he could sit in on Yuuri's lessons – getting him _not_ to was the real challenge. The only reason Yuuri had managed to escape him yesterday had been because Wolfram had been forced, on _her_ insistence, to spend not only the morning but most of the afternoon with his mother before she left for yet another of her 'love cruises.'

"Did you do your homework, your majesty?" Gunter asked, reaching for one of the new books.

"No," he answered, never having been one who was any good at lying. "I couldn't look at it – it's gross and it's creepy and I don't want to study it!"

"Yuuri!" Wolfram glared.

"Oh, your majesty is so silly!" Gunter dismissed his protests with a wave of his hand. "If you're having trouble understanding some of the concepts, just say the word. I'm more than happy to help you in _any_ way possible!"

Wolfram's eyes blazed fiercely as he leapt to his feet. "If anyone's going to help him, it's _me_!" he announced as he stalked back to the other side of the desk and placed his hands possessively on the back of Yuuri's chair. "_I'm_ the one he's learning this for, after all!"

Yuuri squirmed in his seat uncomfortably. "Um…not really…" he mumbled.

"_What?"_

"Eh…I just…I don't think…"

Wolfram gave his chair a sharp jerk. "Who the hell are you planning to use it on, then, huh? Who?"

"I don't wanna use it on _anyone_!" he protested. "I don't even want to learn this stuff!"

"What? After I kindly explained to you how important it was?"

Yuuri grabbed onto the arms of his chair, holding on for dear life as his fiancé shook him. The blonde was shouting at him, but he couldn't make out the words because Gunter was alternately trying to calm him and argue with him. Then they were shouting at each other, which was even worse.

Nevertheless, neither was distracted enough not to notice when Yuuri began to slowly slide from his seat.

"Where do you think you're going?" Wolfram demanded, pulling him back into the chair.

"Potty?" he asked hopefully.

"So you can escape back to the other world?"

"Your majesty, precious time is slipping away from us," Gunter warned. As if _he_ had been the one causing the big fuss. "We simply _must_ start our lesson now."

"Must we?" Yuuri whimpered. He wondered how he'd survive if Gunter and Wolfram decided to join forces to keep him in the room. "Are you _sure_ this isn't a joke? I _really_ have to do this? Homework and tests and…and _everything_?"

"What are you asking?" Wolfram demanded, shaking him even more fiercely.

Yuuri hung on with all his strength and, despite the jostling, gave Gunter his most imploring look. He tried to appear as cute as possible, but he must not have managed it because the older man only hesitated for a moment.

"We'll begin with last night's homework," he decided, opening the proper book and setting it before him. Yuuri stared down at the picture before him with distaste and sulked a little, wondering if he had lost his mind. "First read out the key terms," Gunter instructed.

Face burning with embarrassment, Yuuri followed his directions – reading slowly, forcing the words out even when Gunter, hand flying to his nose, turned away quickly.

"Masterful reading, your majesty – simply masterful!" Gunter cheered when he stopped suddenly. He didn't seem to notice that Yuuri had only managed to make it halfway down the list.

Yuuri had _had_ to stop. Something more disturbing than the foul vocabulary terms had occurred to him, and he _couldn't_ continue.

"Gunter…there aren't going to be…there aren't going to be any _practical_ exams, are there?" he asked with dread.

"Hm? Practical?" Gunter, nosebleed momentarily forgotten, stared at him for a long moment before he understood the question. "Ah! _Practicals_!" he exclaimed, suddenly excited. "Oh, your majesty, if you feel such might help you _learn_…!"

"I don't!" Yuuri said quickly.

"Practicals?" Wolfram was still musing over the question. "You mean like _practice?"_

"No! No! I just wanted to make sure - !"

"Well, we'd have to make sure Greta slept in a different room, that's for sure…"

"No! that's not what I - !"

"Well, we can't have her in there with us, Yuuri, not if you're studying. That would be bad parenting."

"I don't want to study that way!"

Thoughtfully, Wolfram sat down on the edge of the desk. "It's kind of irresponsible for us to even have these school books in the room with her. She's no where near ready to learn about this stuff."

"Neither am I! Wolfram!"

A soft thud interrupted their discussion. Gunter, nose bleeding profusely, had passed out.

"Hm," Wolfram mused, just staring at him. He pierced Yuuri with his sharp green gaze when the young king scrambled to his feet.

"Uh…we should call someone to help him."

"Why? He does this all the time."

"Yeah, but…um…he seems more unconscious than usual?"

Wolfram wasn't buying it. "There's no help for it," he sighed, shaking his head.

Yuuri made the mistake of feeling a surge of hope.

"We're canceling lessons?"

"Not quite."

"But - !"

Wolfram shot him a grin – that dashing, charming, prince-like grin that was only so terrifying because Yuuri was beginning to know his golden haired fiancé so well.

"_I'll_ just have to be your teacher!" he announced.

* * *

"My, my…if you'll forgive me, I must say you look rather the worse for wear, Yuuri."

Half fearful that some other horrible trial was about to be forced on him, Yuuri lifted his head slowly from his hands. Conrad's gentle smile was just as warm as ever, yet it failed to bring the young king the reassurance he was accustomed to.

"Don't tell me," he rasped fearfully. "Gunter woke up and he wants to continue the lesson."

"No," Conrad laughed, "He's still sleeping peacefully. You should be safe – at least for the rest of the day."

Yuuri stared at him, wanting with all his heart to believe his words. He wanted to take peace in his godfather's familiar smile. He wanted to confide in the man all the misgivings he had about the special lessons and to complain about how he felt his feelings had been completely steamrolled in the matter. He wanted to throw a childish tantrum, send himself home through the nearest source of water, and hide under the bed until this world's most quirky customs were naught but distant nightmares.

Instead, he remained exactly where he was – silent, sitting on a bench in one of the palace courtyards, and fighting to remind himself that special cases. Surely not _everyone_ in this world was completely insane.

Conrad gave another small laugh, leaning back against some decorative railing. "What does that look mean?" he asked. He laughed again when Yuuri still refused to answer. "What's this? You aren't speaking to me, either, then?"

"That's not it!" he protested quickly. "It's just…"

One eyebrow rose. "'Just'?" Conrad repeated.

Yuuri forced himself to continue to meet the steady, honest gaze of his godfather. He clenched his hands into fists, fighting for every scrap of strength he could muster.

"How do I tell you what your brother tried to _do_ to me?" he demanded at last.

Conrad blinked slowly.

"Oh…_that_," he chuckled. "Wolfram's already come to me complaining about your behavior."

"_My_ behavior!"

"I'd wager that the both of you will be carrying around the bruises from your most recent scuffle for weeks to come," he teased with his usual good nature.

"_My_ behavior?" Yuuri repeated.

"You do realize that, in his own special way, Wolfram was only trying to help you," Conrad smiled.

Yuuri stared at him, not believing his ears. "Help?" he echoed.

"Of course," the tall brunette assured him.

"Are we talking about the same thing here? Don't you have any idea what he tried to _do_?"

Conrad stared at him for a moment, then sighed. Moving away from the railing, he crossed to join Yuuri on the bench. "I believe," he said slowly, thoughtfully, "That he was trying to help his beloved fiancé learn the needed material quickly – sparing him from being forced to endure prolonged exposure to lessons which he clearly finds distasteful." He offered Yuuri a brotherly smile, but his eyes were serious. "Does that sound plausible?"

Unfortunately, it _did_.

"Except Wolfram's not that nice, and nowhere near that thoughtful!" he protested.

"Yet ever since your first arrival in this world, he has done nothing but live to help you."

No, that didn't sound like his fiancé at all, Yuuri's mind was quick to protest. Except…

Conrad sighed, eyes softening, at his king's clear confusion.

"I know – he's willful and stubborn and spoiled…but not even you can deny how absolutely devoted to you he is."

"C…Conrad…"

"This is not the conversation I had planned to have with you today," he sighed again, rising. "I know you aren't ready to hear certain things."

"What things?" that sounded even more frightening than Gunter's special lessons.

"Your majesty…" Conrad hesitated. "Just allow me to say…I know that it is only expected that there are still things about our ways which you will find difficult to adjust to. I know that you are unaware of how great an honor being offered such lessons is. And…I know that it will be quite some time yet before you will be able to understand how Wolfram can form such an attachment to you when you're both boys. I know these things – everyone does. We're all willing to be patient with you."

"Conrad…"

"So…" he hesitated, and his soft smile faltered. "I just want you to be aware that you _are_ making this much more difficult than it has to be."

Yuuri looked down at his hands. As much as he wanted Conrad to be wrong, or lying, he knew neither was possible.

"It's just _weird_," he muttered at last.

"You've adjusted beautifully to everything else you've been forced to endure," Conrad assured him, his voice both calm and amused. "I'm confident in your ability to adjust to this as well."

Yuuri didn't answer for a long time – he didn't know _how_ to answer. When he finally looked up, he found that Conrad had left him.

* * *

Greta was a bundle of excited nerves that night. Someone had broached the subject of getting her very own room, and the idea thrilled her – now that she was more familiar with the castle and comfortable with her position in it. She kept stopping to reassure her fathers that she would still sleep with them sometimes, but for the most part she spent the evening talking ceaselessly of how she wanted it painted and how she would arrange her toys.

They had batted around the idea before, of course, and somewhere in the palace there _was_ a nursery which technically belonged to her, but which she rarely used. If Yuuri had known how happy a room of her very own would make the girl, he would have found a way to get her one long before now – even if her presence in the room _did_ protect him from being alone with Wolfram.

It was some time before they could get her calmed enough to bundle her into bed between them. Long after the room was dark and still and quiet, Yuuri found himself staring up into the darkness, mind unwilling to calm, sleep far away.

"Wolfram?" he whispered at last.

A light snore was his only answer. Yuuri rolled his eyes.

"Wolfram, you don't snore."

The sound cut off quickly, but still his fiancé didn't answer. Yuuri sighed softly to himself and toyed with the edge of the blanket.

"I just…wanted to thank you, I think," he said quietly. "Conrad came to talk to me, and…well, anyway, I guess I didn't realize you were trying to help…so, um…I'm sorry, and, you know…thanks."

* * *

tbc

A few notes:

- There really doesn't seem to be a whole lot of high-ranking people of Wolfram's age - and I really do doubt he'd look below his station. Our boy is special.

- I watched an episode recently where they did in fact say Wolfram was in his eighties. Of course, I've also seen a few things that seem to contradict that. (I know that there are many series where times and dates jump around because the author failed to keep good notes. DBZ fans will know exactly what I mean.) In any case, I'm sticking with the eighties.

- Though I can see the arguments for and appeal of a Conrad/Yuuri situation, for me it simply doesn't work. I tend to interpret their interactions in a more sibling/mentor/almost-parental-like manner, and see Conrad of being very supportive. His obvious fondness for his little brother supports me.

Response to Unsigned Reviews:

Strega - I think that's a very apt description. lol

Random Reviewer - thanks!

hearmelaugh - poor Gunter; he makes it all too easy! Glad you enjoyed!

Once again, thank you everyone who read and reviewed. Hope to see you next time!


	3. Chapter 2

Love for everyone who reviewed chapter one. Your encouragement means so much to me!

Disclaimers: Own nothing. M/M relationships. Mild Language.

* * *

"Don't you even _care_ that I'm not talking to you, you cheater?"

Yuuri looked up, surprised at the sound of his fiancé's voice. Wolfram was sitting on the other side of the desk, arms and legs both crossed. Somehow he managed to glare and sulk at the same time, his attitude making him appear far younger than his years.

Yuuri had woken in a haze this morning and hadn't bothered trying to shake it off. Somewhere in the back of his mind he'd hoped that allowing the state of unawareness to continue would protect his young and delicate mind from the terrors of the day's lessons.

He hadn't noticed Wolfram was even there.

"Oh…yeah…" he attempted a smile, turning his attention back to his homework. Foregoing his morning jog with Conrad as well as breakfast, he'd come here straight after waking and had spent the entire morning drawing censor bars onto one of the 'educational sketches.' Finished with that, he began doodling a mustache.

Wolfram rose, slamming his hands down on the desk hard enough that he made the inkwell rattle and threaten to fall over.

"Who are you thinking about?"

"Nobody," he muttered. He decided the mustache needed to be longer, and curled at the ends. "I'm trying very hard not to think about _anything_."

Wolfram was silent for a very long time.

"Yuuri?" he asked at last. "Do you want me to grow a mustache?"

What was he talking about? Mustaches? Yuuri looked up from his drawing to peer into his fiancé's pretty, hairless face.

"_Can_ you grow a mustache?"

Wolfram blushed. Clearly, he couldn't. "I don't know," he answered, and he was obviously lying. "I've never tried."

"I don't want you to grow a mustache," Yuuri muttered, turning his attention back to the picture. Maybe it would all seem less horrible if one of the men had an eyepatch…

"So…you're saying you like me exactly as I am?"

"Yeah, sure," he mumbled, having successfully managed to distract himself again. Wolfram fell silent, leaving him to his doodling. A part of Yuuri that was still paying attention was thankful.

He finished the eyepatch and then decided that a parrot was necessary. He was still trying to decide where to place said parrot when Wolfram spoke again.

"Gunter's late."

"Maybe he's still recovering from yesterday," Yuuri suggested absently, deciding against perching the parrot on the top's backside.

"He did lose a lot of blood. Maybe I'll have to take charge again."

_That_ managed to snap Yuuti out of his fog. Dropping his quill, he looked up in horror.

Wolfram smiled slowly. With the morning sun shining off his golden hair and his eyes sparkling with warmth, he very well could have looked very cute – if he hadn't also been so very terrifying.

"Yuuri…it would be sweet, don't you think?"

"Eh…sweet?"

He tried to reach for his hand. Yuuri jerked away.

"Don't be shy!" Wolfram was still smiling, but now he was also glaring. How he managed both was beyond Yuuri's comprehension. "I'm your fiancé. It's to be expected that we…"

"Eeek! Don't finish that sentence!" he squealed, batting away yet another reaching hand.

"Yuuri…" Wolfram pushed back his chair and rose, face set with stubborn determination. He slammed his hands down on the desk again, and it was clear he was willing to go _through_ it if Yuuri refused to cooperate. "Let your loving fiancé _help_ you!"

"I…I think we should wait for Gunter!" he protested, rising quickly.

"He doesn't love you like I do!"

"Can we not use that word?"

"Yuuri!"

Wolfram lunged at him.

Yuuri ran for it.

For a moment, he actually thought he might make it. The door was in sight, the handle was just a few steps away. He was busy mentally mapping out the nearest location of and quickest route to some water when a body slammed into him from behind.

He hit the ground hard enough that it made his ears ring. He and his fiancé grappled on the floor for several moments.

"Stop struggling!"

"Get off!"

"You said you _wanted_ my help!"

"I did not!"

"Then what the hell was that about last night?"

"Not about _this_!"

"Just stay still and let me _help_ you!"

"Noooo!"

They were rolling across the floor now – Wolfram trying to pin Yuuri down, Yuuri trying to get up. Somehow Wolfram managed to force Yuuri onto his back, so they were facing each other, and having his fiancé's face so close to his own made Yuuri even more uncomfortable.

"Wolfram!"

"We could be done already if you'd just stay still and let me teach you!"

"I don't want to be taught!"

"Stop being such a wimp and take it like a man, damn it!"

"But I don't wanna!"

They both froze, and all cries grew silent, as they rolled into what was unmistakably a shoe near the now-open door. Yuuri stared into Wolfram's eyes, Wolfram stared into his, and then slowly they both craned their eyes – up, up, up – into the unsmiling face of Gwendal von Voltaire.

"Somehow," he said humorlessly, "I doubt _this_ was on the agenda today."

The two glanced at each other again, then quickly scrambled apart. As Yuuri rose and straightened his clothes, he noticed three faces peeking in through the still-open door. When he saw them, the maids ducked away quickly, laughing and whispering.

"Where's Gunter?" Yuuri asked, moving to return to the desk.

"Temporarily bedridden from severe anemia," Gwendal answered gravely. He was not joking.

"Anemia?"

"From bloodloss," Wolfram muttered, throwing himself sulkily back into his usual chair and glaring balefully at his eldest sibling. "You all should have known it would happen if you let someone like him teach this kind of thing to Yuuri."

Gwendal only grunted.

They both looked at Yuuri suspiciously when the young king suddenly perked. "Ah! But this is great!" he realized. "I mean, it's not great that Gunter is sick. Poor Gunter! But…"

"But?" Wolfram prodded.

"But obviously he can't keep teaching me if he's sick! I'm saved!"

"Not exactly," the blonde muttered.

"Huh? Why not?"

Gwendal pierced him with his steely blue gaze. "Until Gunter recovers," he announced, "_I_ will be your teacher."

"And you thought you hated it before!" Wolfram grumbled, slouching lower in his chair and crossing his arms.

* * *

"Hey – so tell me – is it true?"

Yuuri looked up, frowning at Murata. "Is what true? Wait," he said as the other boy opened his mouth. "Never mind. I'm sorry, but I really don't have time to talk right now."

"Ah, I see," he adjusted his glasses and nodded sagely. "Important maou business?"

"No," Yuuri gritted his teeth. "If I don't get this assignment and all the other assignments I haven't done for the last couple days done before tomorrow morning, Gwendal said he'd make me strip and use my body for a diagram!"

"How terrifying!"

"He swore he'd make sure the entire palace saw me!"

"Gunter will be sorry if he misses that!"

"This isn't funny! It was a very serious threat, and he was very scary when he said it!"

Murata grinned at him as he sulked over his homework. "Wolfram didn't throw a fit when he suggested it?" he asked. "As protective as he is, I doubt he would want the entire palace gaping at your nude body."

Yuuri only sulked more. Wolfram usually didn't have a problem insisting on his way, no matter _who_ he was talking to.

But he hadn't said a word against Gwendal's threat.

"I heard Gwendal was forced to be Wolfram's teacher when he came of age," Murata mused thoughtfully. "He probably realizes that he means what he says."

"What are you doing in the palace anyway?" Yuuri snapped.

His friend shrugged lightly. "I heard your sex-ed was starting, so I thought I'd come. I thought it might be amusing…I was right."

Yuuri glared sulkily at him. "I'm so glad I'm keeping you entertained," he muttered darkly. "I have to go back to work now."

"Wait – I just wanted to ask you something!"

"What?" he asked, scowling at his homework.

"Is it true that you're pregnant?"

Yuuri dropped his quill, staring at him. "Whaaa?"

"There's a rumor going around that you and Wolfram were found rolling around on the floor naked and covered in chocolate mousse this morning," he answered cheerfully. "The newest element to the story is that you're pregnant."

"That's completely insane!"

"Ah. So you and young lord Bielefeld _weren't_ rolling around together?"

"W…well, we _were_ rolling around…but we _weren't_ naked – and the chocolate mousse thing is completely crazy!"

"Oh, I see."

Yuuri began to turn his attention back to his work, then froze. He looked up slowly, with the same trepidation usually reserved for nightmares.

"Murata…"

"Hm?"

"In this world…_can_ men get pregnant?"

Murata stared at him for a long moment, his eyes slowly going wider and wider. Yuuri glared when the sage gave a noise that sounded like a cross between a giggle and a snort.

"Don't make fun of me! I'm asking a serious question!" and there was so much about this world that was completely wrong to everything Yuuri had ever known prior to coming here that he was sure he wouldn't be surprised with _any_ answer.

"You really don't know?"

"No! I don't!"

He snickered. "Maybe you should get back to your studies," he advised. "If you don't find the answer there, they haven't given you the right books."

He was laughing as he left. Yuuri stared after him, trying, without much success, to convince himself that there was absolutely no possibility that men could have babies. He hadn't _seen_ any pregnant men running around, after all.

But…then again…in this world people still went into seclusion after they began to show signs of pregnancy. Before Nicola had given birth, it had been seen as shocking whenever she left her in-laws' home. What if _men_…?

He glanced at his watch and let out a cry.

"Stop thinking and study, damn it!"

* * *

"Would you get into bed already?" Wolfram sighed, voice impatient.

"Can't. I have ten pages left to go over!"

From across the room, he heard the blonde heave a heavy, much put-upon sigh, followed by the rustle of sheets as Wolfram got out of bed.

"I can't sleep with all the candles lit!" the blonde snarled, stalking toward him.

"What are you talking about?" Yuuri grumbled, not looking up. "You could sleep through anything!" Wolfram had fallen asleep mid-conversation before, in fact.

"Yuuri!"

The annoyance in his fiancé's voice was very clearly accompanied with a threat. With a sigh, Yuuri looked up to find the blonde standing above him, hands on his hips, nightie sliding off one pale shoulder.

"You do look tired," he admitted.

"You've kept me up every night this week!"

"Go sleep somewhere else, then."

Wolfram only glared. He rarely acknowledged anymore it when Yuuri asked him not to sleep with him.

Yuuri sighed. "I'm sorry – but do you know Gwendal's going to give me a test tomorrow? I'm scared of what he'll do to me if I don't make a perfect score!"

"You'll survive the humiliation – trust me," Wolfram muttered. It was his turn to sigh. "Okay," he ceded, "I'm not going to be getting any sleep, anyway, so…I'll help you."

"Eh…"

Wolfram gave him a flat, tired look as he perched himself on the edge of the desk, picking up a book. "As your fiancé, it's my duty to support you! And since _I'm_ the reason you're learning this stuff anyway…"

"Uh…"

Those brilliant green eyes narrowed at him, and Yuuri halted his protest quickly. Yawning, Wolfram turned his attention to the book.

"Okay Yuuri," he sighed, "Start listing positions."

* * *

A new rumor spread across the palace the next day, igniting like a wildfire.

It began innocently enough – one of the maids had entered his majesty's room and found the young lord Bielefeld fast asleep on top of the desk, leaning against the wall, a book held limply in his hand. Seated in the chair, his fiancé the maoh was also asleep – his head resting in the blonde boy's lap.

"They were so adorable, I just couldn't bear to wake them!" Sangria squealed.

Murata smiled, thanked her for the story, and went on his way.

By the end of the day, the rumor had changed drastically. In the new version, the royal couple had been nude when they were found, and had most certainly _not_ been asleep.

"I hear that they're working on writing their own textbook," Murata told the listening guards. "And did you know his majesty is expecting?"

When word came out later that day that his majesty had gotten a perfect score on his most recent 'love' test, it only seemed to confirm the rumors.

* * *

tbc

Response to Unsigned Reviews:

hwoosh - I don't mind one-sided, never-gonna-happen angst though... Anyway, always happy to provide a giggle or two. Thanks!

Random Reviewer! - Always excited to see a Weiss fan. I'm glad you're liking it so far, and thrilled you enjoy the others. Thanks!


	4. Chapter 3

I can't believe the response to this fic! Thank you so much, everyone who took the time to review. I really appreciate it.

Disclaimers: I don't own anything. Mild language. Suggestive situations.

* * *

The door burst open with a loud _bang_.

"Never fear, your majesty!" Gunter cried, hanging from the doorframe in order to support his still-weak legs. Tears streamed from eyes that shone with some combination of fear, triumph, and fever. "Your beloved teacher has returned to your side, willing to fight through hell itself to ensure your continued education!"

Gwendal didn't bother to look up from the large stack of papers in front of him.

"He's not here," he stated. "Today's lessons are over."

Gunter's jaw dropped. Now his tears were shed in bitter disappointment.

"But…it took me all morning to get down here!" he wailed in disbelief.

Still Gwendal didn't look up. "Does your daughter know you're out of bed?"

"OH! Your majesty!" Gunter cried passionately to the rafters. "You poor, wretched thing! Forced to endure the trials of your lessons without the firm, loving guidance of your teacher! How I've dreamed of taking your hand and oh-so-gently opening your - !"

"Gunter."

"Eyes…" he trailed off with a waver, finding the other man's gaze finally fixed on him in their cold, blue glare.

"What makes you think," Gwendal demanded. "That I have time for your melodrama?"

"Eh…" he faltered a moment. His focus lost, he began to at last take note of his body's weakness, and was forced to grip more firmly to the doorframe for support. "What was that? I was having a moment."

Gwendal snorted and turned his attention back to his work. "The boy isn't here," he stated. "I sent him to study with Wolfram."

"W…with _Wolfram_?"

"Hn," reaching for a fresh sheet of parchment, Gwendal failed to notice the other man's horrified expression. "He's been doing quite well since they began working together."

And the young king had stopped protesting so much, too. Without that annoyance, and with allowing Wolfram and the textbooks to do most of the teaching, Gwendal had been able to cut the lessons down to one hour a morning. It still cut into his work, but at least it was more manageable.

"B…but they aren't even _married_!" Gunter protested at last.

Gwendal didn't bother to respond to that.

"What if they get…_ideas_?"

Still Gwendal didn't answer – although he _did_ look up, giving him a look that said clearly 'with a mother like mine, why the hell do you think I would care?'

Gunter only faltered for a moment.

"Do you know where they've gone? Well, it doesn't matter. Your majesty! I will search the ends of the earth to find you and rescue you from the sullying influence of that selfish boy!"

He turned, intending to make a grand exit, and stopped short as he nearly ran into a small woman with dark green hair and deeply angry eyes.

"Father…" she smiled.

"G…G…_Giesela_!" he shrieked.

* * *

The room was quiet, save for the scratching of a quill or the occasional turning of a page. Yuuri had found that if he let his vision fuzz a little, he could distance his mind from his work, making it slightly less horrible. He was even managing to make progress on his assignments, although writing with unfocused eyes was beginning to give him a headache.

"I'm never letting you go, you know."

Yuuri looked up, surprised by the sudden outburst that broke the silence.

Wolfram's eyes pinned him – dark and serious and determined. "Whatever you do…however you beg…I'm not letting you go," he insisted.

Despite Yuuri's fighting, things really had been going well since Wolfram had begun helping him with his lessons. They had even managed to fall into a rather peaceful – if embarrassing – routine over it over the last few days. For the sake of peace they had even managed to keep from the usual arguments about their engagement.

Apparently, Wolfram felt that he had held his silence for long enough.

"Wolfram…" Yuuri began queasily.

"Eventually you're going to have to marry me," the blonde said stubbornly. "I don't care if you don't want to. I've decided…no matter what…I'll never let you go."

Yuuri realized that he'd rather do anything in the world than have this conversation. He'd rather study more dirty diagrams than do this.

But even he wasn't stupid enough to admit that to Wolfram.

"What brought this on?" he asked instead.

Wolfram looked away, and Yuuri felt a deep sense of dread.

"The lessons?" he hazarded.

"I want you to stop fighting," the blonde stated. "Just like you realized you can't get out of your lessons, I want you to realize that you can't escape from _me, _either. I want you to give up…" he held up a picture. "So we can do _this_."

Yuuri shifted uncomfortably. "But I don't want to do that!"

Wolfram frowned, then held up another picture. "What about this one?"

"No."

"This one?"

"No."

"This one?"

Yuuri frowned. "Wolfram…"

His aristocratic eyebrows knit together, and Wolfram's own frown deepened. "Why?" he demanded. "Why not?"

"Because we're both boys!"

"What does that have to do with anything? Aren't I cute enough for you?"

Yuuri's mouth worked soundlessly as he tried to find an answer. Wolfram _was_ cute – especially when he wasn't yelling. But…

"We're both boys!" he protested again.

"Nobody cares about that but you!"

Sometimes Yuuri thought the other boy just picked fights with him in order to get attention. Wolfram, accustomed from birth to getting anything he wanted, sometimes seemed desperate to ensure his fiancé didn't take his presence for granted.

Today, however, did not seem to be one of those situations. Wolfram looked serious, and hurt, and incredibly earnest.

"Can you really give me a good reason why it matters?" the blonde demanded.

Yuuri realized he didn't have a good answer for that. He didn't know why it was so frowned on back in his own world. His mother liked Wolfram, and Wolfram's family always seemed approving of the match...more or less, anyway. He really hadn't thought about their engagement more than was absolutely necessary – he just knew that they were both boys, so they shouldn't get married.

But Wolfram _was_ cute.

He was saved from having to wade through these disturbing thoughts by a loud cry from the hall.

"Your majesty!"

Grateful for the excuse to get out of answering his fiancé, Yuuri leapt to his feet and hurried to the door. Giesela had tied Gunter to a stretcher and was directing two guards in carrying the pale man down the hall.

"Oh! Your majesty!" tears streamed from his eyes at the sight of Yuuri. "Oh, stop!" he begged the guards. "Please stop!"

They looked fearfully to Giesela, who gave a small nod of permission. They stopped.

"Oh, your majesty!" Gunter wailed. "How I've _longed_ to see you!"

"Gunter, what happened?" he asked in concern, coming the rest of the way out of the room.

"He's fine," Giesela assured him with one of her brightest smiles. "He was just bad and snuck out of his bed before he'd been cleared as healthy. He _won't_ do it again."

Gunter gave a small whimper.

"Oh," Yuuri was relieved that it wasn't anything worse. "But Gunter, if you get out of bed too early, you could just end up making yourself worse."

"He knows that now," his daughter stated darkly.

"Oh, your majesty!" Gunter clutched at his hand desperately, his eyes feverish with passion. "Truly your words are of the greatest wisdom!"

"He's only telling you the same things I have!"

"I can feel your great love and devotion!"

"What about _my_ love and devotion?"

Giesela, already annoyed with her father for his actions, was reaching her limit on patience, and she was scary when she was angry. Still, Yuuri hesitated to let Gunter go; he could _feel_ that Wolfram had entered the hall behind him, and he knew that he wasn't ready to face him again yet.

Reluctantly, he let his hand fall away as Giesela motioned for the guards to lift Gunter once again.

"Oh, your majesty!" he cried as he was bourn away, his face shining with tears. "I am sure your love will heal me quickly! Your majesty! Your beloved Gunter will be at your side again soon! Your majesty!"

He watched them go until they could no longer be seen, and even then, knowing he no longer had an excuse, he hesitated to turn back to his fiancé.

At last, Wolfram sighed.

"I don't know what else I expected from a wimp like you."

Yuuri looked at him, and Wolfram was smiling.

His pretty green eyes, however, were hurt.

"Come on, Yuuri," he said, motioning him back toward the room.

"No, I…not right now."

"You still have three pages to finish," he frowned.

"I…I'll do it later. I need a break."

"Yuuri…"

The blonde didn't ask where he was going, didn't insist on coming with him as he usually did. He merely looked at him with that hurt-but-trying-to-hide-it expression. For once the proud boy seemed vulnerable, and Yuuri realized that to leave would be wrong.

He sighed, his fear keeping him from going back into the room, his sense of justice keeping him from leaving.

"Isn't it enough just to be friends?" he asked. "I _do_ like you. It _would_ hurt to lose you."

"That can never be enough," the blonde stared. "I won't suffer that shame."

"What shame? It was a misunderstanding – everyone knows it was a misunderstanding! Why should anyone take it seriously?"

"Maybe if you had taken it back immediately like you had been asked to!" Wolfram glared. "The moment the news left the room, it was as if a public announcement had been made – you know how quickly gossip spreads around here!"

"But…"

Wolfram looked away, crossing his arms. "I understood very quickly that there wouldn't be an easy or an acceptable way to end this. I understood, as you should, that we were stuck in this situation you created – and I have no intention of spending the rest of my life unhappy!"

"Wolfram?"

He hesitated, then looked at him once more. His eyes were dark and serious. "I made the decision to love you. The least you could do is _try_ to do the same."

"Only you could be stubborn enough to _decide_ to love someone," he muttered.

"Yuuri!" he stalked forward and grabbed his shoulders, clutching him hard enough to leave bruises. "I'm serious! I want you to _try_! I want you to give me a fair chance! _I_ already love _you_!"

"No you don't, Wolfram," Yuuri tried his best to give the other boy a gentle smile. "You just want to get your way. Like usual."

Wolfram stared at him, and for a moment he looked…the only word to describe it was 'crushed.' The look passed just as Yuuri was beginning to panic, and was replaced by an expression of cold anger so quickly that the other could just as well have been the young king's imagination.

"If that's what you believe," he said, dropping his hold on his arms.

"Wolfram…"

He walked away without another word. Hands clenched into tight fists, back rigid, he didn't look back.

* * *

Despite threats from his daughter, Gunter sat straight up in bed when he heard the gossip.

"_What_?" he shrieked. "His majesty…pregnant?"

Unconcerned, Giesela pushed him back down. "You know that isn't possible," she said.

"I will never forgive that spoiled brat Wolfram if he has dared to sully his majesty's beautiful purity!" he whimpered, throwing an arm over his eyes.

"Because ruining his purity is _your_ job?" she asked flatly.

Gunter either didn't hear her, or he was smart enough to _pretend_ not to hear her. He sobbed dramatically for several moments while the healer prepared her medicine.

"How could his majesty betray me?" he wailed suddenly.

"You know it isn't possible for him to be pregnant," she snapped, fighting to divert her annoyed energy into making medicine, and not into inflicting violence on her already-ill father.

Male pregnancy was not entirely unheard of among mazoku, but it _was_ extremely rare. The world's best scholars and doctors had narrowed the cause down to a certain astronomical alignment that only occurred once every five years and only lasted for an hour. In order to even have the chance of conception required the couple to plan very, very carefully.

Even with perfect timing and optimal positions, however, there was still only a ten percent chance of conception.

"_That_ day is still over a year away," Giesela muttered, grinding the medicine furiously. Gunter had been crafting complicated plans to get their king alone on that night since almost the day he had first arrived in their world.

"Ah!" the silvery haired man exclaimed, realizing that she was right. "His majesty and that brat haven't _known_ each other long enough for there to be a baby!"

"Exactly!"

"I still have time!"

"Uh…father…"

"Oh! To carry a child of his majesty!" he sat up in bed, eyes shining, a joyous smile spread across his face. He seemed, for a moment, fully recovered.

"Don't you think you're a little old to raise an infant?"

"A beautiful child with his majesty's heroic coloring…oh, to have a piece of him to myself forever!"

Giesela sighed. She set the medicine aside and placed her hands patiently in her lap, waiting. Gunter was lost in one of his 'moments' again, and there was nothing she or anyone else could do until it passed.

"And that night…that glorious night of conception…! Your majesty's young, strong body blossoming under my firm guidance - !" he cut off suddenly, head flying back, blood pouring from his nose.

Giesela sighed again. "You're never going to get better if you keep doing this!" she snapped, reaching for some towels.

* * *

"I knew it would be too much for him to handle," Yozak chuckled, peering in through the open door. "It's a wonder he's still alive – he's been unable to focus on anything else since he got permission to teach the kid."

Conrad smiled with little humor. "Gwendal was the one who insisted on letting him try," he reminded him.

"He's really so busy he can't sacrifice an hour a day for his king?"

"No…I think trying to teach Wolfram was simply too traumatizing. He fought the lessons almost as hard as his majesty is."

"That's right!" Yozak laughed. "Wasn't that the year the entire south wing burned down?"

Conrad chuckled as they began to walk again.

"Man!" Yozak laughed. "Those cries of 'yucky, yucky, gross, so yucky!' haunted me for _years_!"

* * *

tbc

- I like Giesela when she's scary.

- Wolfram _did_ start using the "L" word in cannon really early. I see no problem with his using it whenever he likes.

- Don't take Gunter's perversions too seriously.

- Don't tell Yuuri that Wolf didn't like the lessons, either. (grins)

Response to Unsigned Reviews:

Yume no Anime - you know, that's a very good theory, and one which would be really fun to explore some day...

Wolf - He'd be blushing like hell, but insisting on it anyway. He's what I like to call a "dominate uke". (grins) And Murata is _fun._

luz - Yuuri: "What? Now we're doing math?"

Thank you so much, everyone. Hope to see you again soon.


	5. Chapter 4

So many thanks to everyone who took the time to review last chapter. Your support means worlds to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimers: Own nothing. Suggestive content. Mild language.

* * *

Wolfram didn't sleep in the bed with him that night, and Yuuri wasted many hours tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

"Damn it…"

As the sun crept slowly over the horizon, the young king stared with tired eyes as the gradually lightening ceiling.

"And I was really tired, too."

The ceiling, for a wonder, didn't seem to care.

* * *

"_Again_!"

It was that growl that was the warning. He was often demanding, usually stubborn, almost always selfish, but it was that growl – that deep-in-the-back-of-the-throat, animalistic growl that caught onto the back of his words – that let all those listening know that Wolfram von Bielefeld was not to be trifled with today.

His men were well used to the warning signs – and those who were not quickly learned to be. There was no hesitation, no grimacing, no tiny signs of rebellion as each and every blue-clad boy jumped to do as instructed despite the fact that Wolfram had been drilling them ceaselessly since before dawn.

Conrad smiled fondly as he watched his beloved little brother walk the lines of his men, picking out and latching on to flaws that most would never notice. The boy's flaws aside, it was good when he decided to take his anger out on his troops. The men were some of the youngest and prettiest on duty, but due to their leader's quick temper, they were also some of the best trained.

"He walked right past me when I tried to talk to him," Yuuri said miserably. He was slumped bonelessly over the railing, watching his fiancé with dead, tired eyes. "He's never ignored me before."

Conrad felt his smile widen, forcing the now-familiar mask of dignified cheer in the face of his king's unhappy whine.

"It's better for you to let him work some of his anger off first," he said lightly. Things tended toward spontaneous combustion when the young prince failed to find appropriate distraction. "He'll come to you when he's over it."

"I just wanna _do_ something so he's not mad!"

He stifled the need to sigh. Arguments between the royal couple were anything but rare, but it wasn't often that Wolfram grew so upset that he had to distance himself from their king. Usually he found nothing to stop him from taking his anger out on the Maoh himself. Without hearing the entire story of the conflict – which Yuuri had blushingly denied him – Conrad was limited in his ability to advise the boy.

He looked up at the sky and realized that the time normally allotted for their morning run was nearly over. They hadn't been doing much actual running since the 'special' lessons had begun. While he cherished his time with Yuuri, it bothered him how very unhappy the situation was continuing to make his king.

"You're annoyed with me," the dark haired boy sighed.

"No, your majesty."

"Yuuri," he corrected automatically.

"No, Yuuri." Conrad amended. His smile now took less effort. "I am not annoyed with you."

"You want me to sit still and wait for Wolfram to calm down and you know I can't."

"You rarely follow advice on such matters – and sometimes it seems to work best that way. You have a very special way of seeing things, and it's quite impossible to predict your results." Still, it would be unfortunate if Wolfram turned violence on the king.

"If only he was a girl," he muttered miserably.

So it _was_ a relationship problem. Conrad's smile fell away without his noticing it. "Yuuri…"

"I know, I know!" he snapped, uncharacteristically rude in his frustration. "It doesn't matter in this world. I've been told so many times that it makes me sick."

He fixed his eyes on the blonde head down below and saw instead of an angry soldier disciplining his troops, a flaxen haired toddler running around the yard with a wooden sword and a willing laugh. Sometimes, he couldn't help seeing his baby brother that way – and when he did, the urge to protect the boy's happiness was nearly overwhelming.

"No one is perfect, of course," he murmured thoughtfully, "But it's still odd that out of every possible 'fault' he has, you choose one which he has no control over."

"Conrad…"

"I apologize. I speak out of turn." Conrad turned away, leaning his backside against the railing.

"Don't be like that," Yuuri mumbled. "You have the right to say anything you want to me. You, more than anyone."

"I care about you both. I want you both to be happy."

"And it would make Wolfram sad if we weren't dating anymore."

"I…wasn't aware you had realized that." Hurting Wolfram's pride was one thing, but the situation had already progressed far beyond that. Was it possible that the king was finally beginning to mature?

"He said some stuff…last night."

"Ah?"

"How can he be serious, Conrad?"

He thought about pointing out his little brother's limited sense of humor, and smiled. "He takes most things seriously, your majesty," he said. It sounded much more kind than what had first come to mind.

Yuuri gave him an annoyed look. "But I'm a boy!"

"I would have thought your current area of study would have made _that_ idea at least a little less strange to you."

The boy squirmed uncomfortably. Conrad sighed, but managed a gentle smile.

"Does it _really_ disgust you?" he asked. "Or is it simply uncomfortable because it isn't something you considered before? Because it challenges your ideas of 'normal'?"

Yuuri didn't answer, and Conrad knew it was because he wasn't sure. With yet another smile for his king, he turned his attention back below. Wolfram had finally dismissed his troops and they, sweaty and sore and doubtless thankful it was over, were limping off the field.

"I…I'm not sure," Yuuri answered – reluctant, but honest.

"Hm."

"Do you…do you think I should talk to Wolfram?"

He smiled humorlessly. "You may wish to wait until he's calmed a little more," he advised. Wolfram was violent when irritated, murderous when angry, and when he was _furious_…

Conrad shuddered at the thought.

"In any case, your majesty, I believe it's now time you head for your lessons."

He froze in the act of correcting Conrad about his name, eyes growing large. He cursed. "Lessons!"

"Now, I know you dislike them, Yuuri, but that kind of language is hardly appropriate for a king," he corrected mildly, clearly amused.

"I didn't finish my homework!"

"Oh…" and with Gwendal as his teacher, that _couldn't_ be good. "Perhaps if you hurry…"

Yuuri didn't wait for him to finish the sentence. Before Conrad had even _begun_ speaking, the young king was running off at breakneck pace, cursing and mumbling to himself.

Conrad smiled and turned to stare out over the railing once more. It seemed the king would be getting his morning jog after all.

* * *

He burst into the study, coughing and weezing, convinced his lungs were about to burst. He was sure that he had never run so hard in his entire life.

"You're late," Gwendal stated darkly, not looking up from his usual stack of paperwork.

"I'm sorry! I was…and then I had to…!"

"Wimp," Wolfram muttered. He was seated in his usual chair, arms crossed and expression sulky. He'd had time to change into fresh clothes, which meant that Yuuri was later than he had thought.

"Sorry," he mumbled again, wondering as he moved to his own seat if the insult meant his fiancé was talking to him again.

"Homework," Gwendal snapped, holding out his hand. He still hadn't so much as paused in his work.

"Uh, sure!" Yuuri agreed, realizing with jubilation that his 'teacher' was too busy and too distracted to notice that the work was not completely finished. He quickly passed over the stack of rumpled parchment that was supposed to have been his assignment and scrambled into the other desk chair. He tried, without much success, to catch Wolfram's eye.

Gwendal finally put down his quill and began to skim quickly over the pages of homework. Good – he didn't seem to be reading them. Yuuri took the older man's distraction as the chance he'd been hoping for and slouched down low in his seat, trying to stretch out his leg to touch Wolfram with his foot. He wasn't going to be able to _stand_ it if the blonde was still mad!

It was true that they fought a lot, and also true that Yuuri didn't want to marry him – but one could not spend as much time with another person as Yuuri and Wolfram spent together and not get to know that person at least a little! Wolfram was at his side constantly – when he ate, when he slept, even, most of the time, when he left the kingdom. Even green with seasickness the blonde would always endeavor to be at his side, and Yuuri had reluctantly gotten used to it. He depended on having him there, fiercely loyal and ready to correct him if he made a mistake.

It was true that the follow-Yuuri-around thing had gotten a little extreme since the lessons had started, but Yuuri was even finding himself getting used to that. A little.

"I _can't_ leave," Wolfram had glared, the one time Yuuri had tried to complain. "I have to make sure you don't escape! This way, if you _do_ try to go back to your own world, you won't be able to do it without me!"

"I understand that," Yuuri had answered, "But do you _have_ to watch me while I pee?"

Last night and this morning had been _weird_. Being in the castle and not having his fiancé at his side nagging and insulting him had been…unsettling.

Not just that. It had also been…

Lonley?

Gwendal grunted quietly, finally raising his eyes to look at him. "Your majesty," he began, grave and stern. "These last three pages…"

"Yes?" he asked hopefully, wondering how strange he looked slouched down in his seat, one leg extended toward Wolfram.

"You've just written the word 'pancakes' over and over."

"Was that…the wrong answer?"

_Wow_, that vein on Gwendal's forehead could get _big_ when he was mad! Wolfram shot Yuuri an annoyed glare as his older brother clenched his homework in his fist, clearly struggling for control.

Yuuri sat up in his chair quickly. He had his fiancé's attention now, so there was no need to continue to try to nudge him.

"Please don't make me do naked diagrams!" he begged, watching that vein throb with no little bit of dread.

"Brother," Wolfram said, also staring as the vein grew dangerously larger. "It's my fault. You know the stupid wimp is lost without me, and I…" he jumped quickly to his feet as the vein swelled even bigger. "You have a lot of work to do, and don't have time to burst another blood vessel," he said. His hand fisted in Yuuri's shirt and he pulled, jerking him to his feet. "With your permission, I'll deal with him myself!"

He didn't wait for any sort of 'permission'. While Yuuri was still staring in morbid fascination at the rapidly throbbing vein, Wolfram hauled him out of the room.

"Why didn't you just admit you didn't do it, instead of trying to pass it off?" he hissed, dragging his bewildered king down the hall.

"I…I thought he might not notice?"

"You insulted his intelligence. He _hates_ that!" Wolfram shuddered at some horrible memory.

Yuuri at last managed to gain some control over his feet so his progress was more 'walking quickly' and less 'being dragged.'

"If he even _sees_ you again before he calms down…!" Wolfram trailed off darkly.

Yuuri stared at him, something important finally occurring to him. "Wolfram?" he asked. "Does this mean you aren't mad at me anymore?"

The other boy snorted and did not answer.

* * *

That stupid, idiotic, empty-headed…_wimp_!

Wolfram was so furious he could barely string two thoughts together. He didn't _want_ to be speaking to the idiot yet. He didn't want to be _looking_ at him! Yuuri was supposed to come to him begging for forgiveness and promising to love him! He was supposed to _miss_ Wolfram, and through missing him at last realize just how very important to him he was!

The plan had been so perfect, so beautiful, so…so _artistic_ in his head, and the little wimp had already gone and ruined it all!

Reaching one of the more out-of-the-way libraries, Wolfram practically threw his fiancé into a chair and proceeded to stand over him, glaring and growling and trying desperately to salvage some of the precious control he thought he'd held only moments before.

"Wolfram?" Yuuri nearly cowered under the force of his glare.

The little wimp didn't even _realize_ that he'd ruined everything! Wolfram nearly screamed in frustration, flopping elegantly down into a chair.

"Wolf - ?"

"How do you manage it?" he demanded. "How in the nine levels of hell do _you_ manage to keep control of this situation? Just when I think I have a chance - !" he had to fight the urge to scream once again. He would _never_ get what he wanted if Yuuri were allowed to continue to hold so much power over the pace of their relationship!

"I don't know what you're…"

" – _Forcing_ me to save you from him - !"

"What? Forcing?"

Wolfram realized he was ranting and quickly fell silent. He realized that the wimp probably wouldn't be able to follow his logic, anyway.

Back when the reluctant Gwendal had been forced to give _Wolfram_ these lessons, the young prince had taken his eldest brother's busy work schedule and hatred for teaching to mean that he wouldn't actually be _reading_ the monumental stack of homework he assigned.

Wolfram had gotten away with it for all of two days, and the memory of his resulting punishment still made him shudder. For him there had been no fleet-footed fiancé to drag him from the room before his brother's anger could explode.

Gwendal had forced him to write a…very detailed…_scene_ in which one character ("We'll call him Ramwolf," Gwendal had decided, glaring dangerously) finds himself kidnapped by a lusty bandit. He'd then forced him, to his utter mortification, to don a dress and read out his little "story" in front of everyone he could gather.

Wolfram had leaned his lessons without complaint after that.

He only hoped Yuuri didn't have to suffer such extreme measures.

"You're still angry at me," Yuuri realized, looking down at his lap and fidgeting. It made him feel slightly better that the dark haired boy actually sounded disappointed.

Wolfram only snorted, deciding that the wimp didn't _deserve_ an answer. Somehow, the idiot managed to understand the message.

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

Of course. Perfect, kind-hearted, idiotic wimp. Yuuri never wanted to hurt _anyone_ – it was hardly a sign that he _cared_.

"Maybe if I go ahead and start your punishment, Gwendal will go easier on you," Wolfram suggested. He wasn't going to have this conversation, wasn't willing to hear about how he was _just as important_ as everyone else, when the wimp should know he was supposed to be _more_ important. Not when he was still so angry. Not when the wimp was going to be so wimpishly nice.

Yuuri winced, taking his words as a threat, rather than as the reluctant peace offering Wolfram had intended it to be.

Wolfram sighed.

Despite the fact he had _chosen_ to love his fiancé, it wasn't something that he had to work on. Yuuri was a wimp and he had trouble understanding a lot of things about this world and sometimes he was annoying.

But he was also kind-hearted and weirdly brave and incredibly attractive. Wolfram had always preferred the darker coloring. What had begun as a decision to make the best out of a politically tricky situation had quickly become a very real emotion.

He loved Yuuri more than he'd ever loved anyone in his entire life – so why was being patient with him so damned difficult sometimes?

* * *

"Wolfram…"

"You aren't getting out of the assignment."

"Wolfram, do you _really_ love me?"

Those twin emerald eyes looked up, focusing on him coldly. Wolfram was frowning. "Stop interrupting," he ordered. "The only way we'll be able to keep Gwendal's punishment from being too horrible is if we can prove to him that you know the material. Now…"

"Wolfram…I just…I need to know."

"Don't I say it often enough?"

The young king shifted uncomfortably. "You say it all the time, but I never thought you meant it," he admitted. "I mean, you started saying stuff about love a long time ago – before we even knew each other well enough to be _friends_, let alone…:

"I never say things I don't mean," he snapped. "I'm not a cheating wimp."

Yuuri took a deep breath and fought to keep his hands from shaking. Did that mean Wolfram really _did_ love him?

"So it really would hurt you if we called off the engagement?"

Wolfram's look was murderous. "Back to work!" he snarled.

Yuuri looked down at the book again, but didn't see anything on the page. "Wolfram…" he began again.

A low growl was his only answer.

"Could you…um…Wolfram, do you think you could…uh…c…c…could you…?"

"Listen, wimp - !"

Yuuri squeezed his eyes shut.

"Couldyoukissme?" he blurted, as quickly as he could. He had a moment to feel triumph in his ability to force the question out, and then he realized how unnaturally quiet and still the other boy had become. He opened his eyes slowly, fearfully, to find his fiancé staring at him, expression pale and shocked and…

"Kiss?" he repeated softly.

Yuuri felt his face inflame. He quickly looked away.

"I was talking to Conrad earlier…"

"Conrad," Wolfram repeated, and there was obvious jealousy in his voice.

Yuuri licked his lips nervously. "A…anyway," he said, "I realized that I wasn't sure _why_ it bothered me that we were both boys. So…so I thought you could kiss me, and then I would know."

"Kiss you."

"It's not like it'll kill me or anything. And then we'll _both_ know. I mean, if it's horrible, then we'll know for sure that nothing will ever work between us and it can all be over quick and easy. But if I like it, then I'll know that…that maybe I _can_ marry you, and everything will end up okay." Reminding himself of _why_ he'd decided to ask Wolfram to kiss him gave him strength. He looked up, forcing himself to meet his fiancé's wide, surprised eyes. "You're my friend and I don't want to hurt you."

Wolfram continued to stare at him. "If you're playing with me…"

"I'm not playing!" he promised. "I won't fight you, so just…"

Wolfram still looked as if he wasn't sure he trusted him, but he scooted his chair closer until their knees bumped. It seemed his hands shook a little as he reached to take hold of Yuuri's face. Then he hesitated.

"What if you _do_ hate it?" he asked. "Will you call off the engagement?"

"There wouldn't really be a point in getting married, would there?"

"How do I know you won't just say you hate it to get away from me?" he frowned.

It felt strange speaking with Wolfram's hands on his face. "I won't lie to you," he promised.

Wolfram licked his lips. "Are you scared?"

"Yeah. A little."

"Wimp," Wolfram grinned. "Close your eyes."

He did, clenching his hands on the arms of his chair.

* * *

tbc

Thanks for reading, everyone.

Response to Unsigned Reviews:

luz - it's what I call a "dominate uke." While technically the uke, he's the one acting dominate - giving orders, initiating things, etc. That's why it still works out with Yuuri's innate obliviousness. At least, that's how it goes in my head. Plus, Wolf makes such an adorable uke... (grins)

Thanks again, everyone! Hope to see you again soon. (Whistling innocently, the Author strides casually away. Cliffhanger? Who? Me?)


	6. Chapter 5

I know I left you at an evil place. Sorry you had to wait so long.

This chapter completely ignores the OVA. I took it into consideration, thought about using it, and then decided against it. It's hard to pinpoint the timing with those, anyway.

Warnings: Standard disclaimers apply. You should know this by now.

* * *

Wolfram's lips were warm, and they were soft. His breath was sweet.

Later Yuuri wouldn't be sure if it had been bodily instinct or only surprise that caused his lips to part. Later he wouldn't remember the small, shocked sound he made. A part of him had never expected Wolfram to actually follow through with kissing him.

Wolfram took the sound and parted lips as some sign of permission and deepened the kiss – slowly, carefully. His hands on Yuuri's face were shaking ever so slightly – a fine tremor that even someone like the proud, stubborn Wolfram couldn't fight. Even as the kiss continued and logical thought slipped rapidly further and further away, something in the back of Yuuri's mind told him that Wolfram was just as frightened as he was.

In some strange way, it was reassuring.

Wolfram explored his mouth slowly, gently, each small movement of his tongue spreading warm, pleasant shivers through Yuuri's body. Without thinking about it, the dark haired boy found himself responding. At first he simply tried to mirror Wolfram's actions, but that didn't seem to be enough. He grew bolder, more adventurous, and then it was Wolfram's turn to gasp –

Wolfram tasted warm and sweet and bright, and Yuuri realized that the other boy was trying to crawl into the chair with him – but no, that wasn't right, because Yuuri had his arms around him and was _pulling_ him into the chair, wasn't he? – and the hands on his face weren't trembling anymore, but they _were_ sliding into his hair, grasping and tugging.

And then Wolfram began to pull back, and it seemed like the end of the world. Yuuri made some small sound of protest – a sound which suspiciously resembled a whimper – and tried to follow him, to continue the kiss.

The hands in his hair pulled him forcefully back.

Wolfram stared at him, his green eyes dark and earnest and searching. His lovely face was flush with emotion, his lips pink and swollen. Yuuri unconsciously ran his tongue over his own lips as he stared at them, and blushed as he realized that he could still taste him. His face grew even hotter as it slowly sunk in – he had kissed Wolfram. Wolfram was straddling him in the chair. He had kissed Wolfram. His fingers were curled under the waistband of Wolfram's pants.

And he had kissed Wolfram.

A slow smile spread itself across the other boy's lovely mouth.

"Ha!" Wolfram said, eyes shining with triumph. "You liked it! I _knew_ I could make you like it!"

There was a soft sound nearby, like the door opening or closing. When the two boys looked, however, they found that they were still completely alone.

* * *

Gwendal stood outside the closed library door and fought to control his expression. He clenched his fist, digging nails into palms hard enough to draw blood, swearing not to be moved from his place until his face was once more the respectable marble slab he commanded it to be.

It had taken him more time to find his youngest brother and the irresponsible king than it had taken him to decide on a punishment suitable for attempting to pass of a half-assed homework assignment. Wolfram, as the boy's fiancé and unofficial tutor, would have an equal share in the blame and what Gwendal was prepared to make those two suffer was a punishment so horrifying, so humiliating, and so horrid, the entire palace would _have_ to watch.

His anger hadn't cooled as he'd gone off in search of his prey. By the time he remembered the old, disused library Wolfram had liked to play in as a child, he'd even added a few imaginative details to his chosen vengeance.

And then he had opened the door and seen the king and his youngest brother and they…they had been…

They had just been so _cute_!

Gwendal clenched his fists harder, working to strengthen his resolve. He would not smile – he would _not!_

Gwendal told himself it wasn't his weakness for all things adorable that led him to set aside his plans for punishment. If Wolfram and his majesty were kissing, then clearly the lessons were beginning to have an effect. Besides, it was like they were doing homework. Maybe even extra credit.

Satisfied that logic had put everything right – and saved him from humiliating smiles as well – Gwendal began to walk.

There were many people in the palace and at court who had placed great stakes on the king and his fiery fiancé. It seemed some days that there were just as many plots to tear them apart as there were to get them together. What Gwendal had just witnessed was very valuable information, indeed.

And yet, as he quickened his pace to put as much distance between himself and that library as possible, it never once occurred to him to share his discovery.

The fact that he had witnessed a First Kiss – albeit a rather heated one – was quite obvious to him. He was sure that, should he spread the news, the two would be mobbed. That was simply unacceptable. Cuteness as he had just witnessed…needed room to grow.

The glow of Cute continued to fade with Gwendal's brisk pace down the hall, and with its retreat, un-adorable thought slowly began to return.

He found his pace slowing.

If that had truly been a First Kiss, as he was nearly absolutely certain it was, then Wolfram and his majesty _couldn't_ have been discovered naked and sweaty in a basement broom closet defiling innocent cleaning equipment, as the current gossip claimed. If that had been a First Kiss, then it was more than doubtful that his majesty was somehow pregnant, and even more doubtful that the royal couple had traumatized a troupe of guards who happened on them unexpectedly in the gardens.

It begged the question – where _did_ his Excellency the sage pick up such far-fetched rumors?

* * *

"Hey," Wolfram's voice lost some of the joy it had held when their kiss had ended. "How long are you going to stare at that door, you cheater? Hoping someone will come to rescue you from the truth?" his expression, as Yuuri reluctantly looked at him, was smug. "You _liked_ kissing me. Will you deny it?"

"N…no," he answered reluctantly.

"Good!" Wolfram gave a decisive nod, clearly pleased. "Then we can get married!"

"M…_married_? But I never said - !"

"You promised we'd get married if you liked kissing me," Wolfram insisted, crossing his arms and glaring a challenge.

"No," gods but arguing with him would be so much easier if he wasn't _sitting_ on him. "I said I'd stop trying to get out of the engagement!"

"So you think I'm willing to spend the rest of my life as your fiancé?"

"Do we have to have this conversation while you're still in my lap?"

"Why not? _You_ pulled me here."

"I did not!"

Wolfram glared sullenly at him and Yuuri fought against Terrible Thoughts about how cute the other boy looked with his kiss-pink lips pouting and his wavy hair slightly disheveled. Yuuri was usually quite adept at ignoring the other boy's good looks, but apparently after having kissed said other boy, his mind refused to turn off the 'oh-pretty' button.

He blushed.

"Ah! I see!" Wolfram brightened. "_Now_ I know what the problem is!"

"I'm not sure I want to hear it," he muttered fearfully.

"You just need constant reminders!"

"Constant…?"

Wolfram didn't give him time to figure it out on his own. Catching hold of Yuuri's face once more with both of his hands, he leaned down to kiss him again. His lips were everywhere – Yuuri's mouth, his cheeks, his nose, eyelids, forehead, chin. Quick, soft kissed so innocent that slowly Yuuri began to stop fighting.

It was only after Yuuri began to relax that Wolfram launched his true attack. His only warning occurred when the blonde's hands slid into his hair, and then Wolfram's lips were on his own – in a way which was neither soft nor innocent.

He only drew back when it became clear to them both that Yuuri's _body_, at least, didn't care that he was a boy.

"Ha!" Wolfram said for the second time that day.

"Okay!" Yuuri's face felt like it had taken some of Wolfram's fire magic head on, he was blushing so much. "Okay! So I like it!"

"Ha!" Wolfram said again.

"Would you get off of me?"

"You would have to remove your hands from my backside first."

Yuuri snatched his hands away quickly and Wolfram, looking far too pleased with himself, returned to his own chair. They stared at each other, Yuuri blushing, Wolfram smug and beaming, for several long, silent moments.

"Well," Wolfram said finally, "I guess we can skip the rest of chapter three: the art of the kiss."

"Sh…shut up!"

"Though you do need more practice. You kiss like a wimp."

"Wolfram!"

The blonde laughed, a sound which was so rare and so surprising that it nearly made Yuuri forget all about being embarrassed. Wolfram was _happy_. Yuuri had made Wolfram _happy_.

"Don't worry," Wolfram assured him. "I'll be sure to give you _plenty_ of chances for improvement."

"We…that's something we're going to do now?"

"Don't you want to?"

"Well…yeah…" admitting it made him blush all over again. "But I still don't wanna do the stuff in those diagrams!"

"Don't be stupid – I know you aren't ready yet!"

Yuuri objected to the word 'yet,' but wisely chose not to comment.

Wolfram smiled at him, his pretty eyes bright. "This is enough. For now."

* * *

Yuuri looked so flustered and adorable.

There had been many instances of crushed hope, fruitless dreams, and painful disappointment over the course of their relationship. Times when he had thought Yuuri might finally be beginning to return his feelings, or at the very least be beginning to realize how much he needed him.

This was the first time it seemed impossible for his hopes to fail, and Wolfram could hardly contain his joy. That look on his fiancé's face was, as far as the blonde was concerned, indisputable evidence that he had finally – _finally_ – made some headway.

"This is enough. For now." Wolfram told him, a feeling of warmth and contentment welling up within him.

Yuuri's face grew even redder, and Wolfram found himself laughing once more.

"It's better than studying, isn't it?"

Impossibly, his blush grew darker. Wolfram had to fight the urge to jump on him again.

But he knew they were going to have to talk seriously about the kiss – which meant that Yuuri would blush and protest and argue, and Wolfram's current feelings of joy would vanish quickly. He would much rather avoid everything but teasing his fiancé, but…

"You aren't going to try to call off the engagement, right?"

Yuuri looked away, fidgeting. "I guess if I've got to be engaged to someone, it might as well be you."

How quickly the stupid wimp could ruin everything!

"What was that?"

"W…what I mean is, someone would just be trying to find someone for me if I was single, right? At least I know _you_. But I'm still not ready to get married!"

"What about loving me?" Wolfram demanded. "Are you ready to try?"

"I…I don't know how…"

"Can you just stop fighting?"

Something about the question startled him. Yuuri looked up, staring at him.

"Is that really what I've been doing?" he asked.

"Do you really think you've ever done anything to make this easier?"

There were no blushes now. "But…but that's really not fair to _you_, is it?"

"Of course it isn't fair! Why do you think I'm so afraid of you cheating?"

Yuuri frowned. "I…I'm sorry," he said, quiet and serious. "I didn't realize…"

It was Wolfram's turn to look away. The wimp didn't _realize_? With Wolfram's status and his looks, he could have had anyone he wanted – why would he waste his time chasing like a fool after someone who clearly didn't want him if he didn't honestly love him? And he didn't _realize_ he'd been fighting him?

There had been whispers at court. People were beginning to refer to him as Yuuri's 'shadow' and he hadn't even cared because he'd been _sure_ that one day his fiancé would overcome his shyness and strange aversion to marrying another boy – and Yuuri hadn't _realized_?

"Wolfram…I've really screwed up, haven't I?"

He only grunted. As much as he wanted to hold his fiancé accountable for everything he'd been forced to endure, it was very difficult to do when there was not the smallest trace of malice motivating him.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said at last.

"I'm sorry," Yuuri said again.

"Just stop."

They were silent for a long time.

"You _are_ cute," Yuuri said finally. "And I _do_ like you. And…and I'm sorry I said you only loved me because you wanted to get your way. I know that's not true, and you've never really given me a reason to believe otherwise. You've been a good friend, and I know I owe you a lot."

"Why are you saying these things?"

"Because I think you're still mad about yesterday," he said with his usual piercing honesty, "And if you aren't…you should be."

"Humph!" Wolfram answered, looking away proudly. "If that's your apology, you're going to have to do better than that!"

"Wolfram!"

* * *

Peering through the partially-open door, Anissina tapped her fingernails absently on the invention in her hands and wondered if she dared.

The genius inventor had never before had cause to hesitate acquiring a suitable guinea pig for one of her beautiful creations. These men should spend their days overcome with awe simply by being in the presence of one so brilliant – testing her inventions for her was the _least_ they could do to show their appreciation.

But 'stop-being-so-secretive-and-spill-it-already-kun' was an _old_ invention. Surely Gwendal would remember it – it had burned off every hair on his head, including his eyebrows, and it had been three years before any of it had even _begun_ to grow back.

The selfish brute hadn't even cared that, aside from that one tiny little side-effect, the invention had been a complete success. It had worked to get him to tell her where he kept his secret stash of candies, after all.

Unless he had only told her in order to get her to put out the flames…

Nah.

Anissina was sure that Gwendal was hiding something from her. On a normal day, the man had five frown-induced worry wrinkles between his eyebrows, and today he had only _three_.

Gwendal was in a _good_ mood.

Anissina _must_ know the reason why.

She clutched her precious, _successful_ invention close to her chest as she stared at the man working diligently at his desk. It would be quite a shame if his pretty hair burned off again, but that was a risk she was willing to take to learn whatever it was he was hiding.

Still, she was certain that he would remember this invention, and so she couldn't claim to want to test it. His refusal would be even more stern than it usually was, and she might not be able to bully him into it.

But she was absolutely certain she'd _die_ if she didn't know what had made him so happy! She _couldn't_ let him refuse!

Decision made, she pushed open the door and entered the room.

"Oh Gwendal!" she sing-songed.

He looked up, and paled at the sight of her invention. He recognized it.

Damn it.

* * *

tbc

Response to Unsigned Reviews:

akinohanun - hope you enjoyed, and apologies for the wait.

luz - There's actually only one couple I write for who I refuse to let take turns and they aren't that couple - so no worries. (grins)

wolf - was that enough of a reaction? (grins) I'm so happy you're enjoying it so far!

Tsuki-chan - well, not 'very soon' but at least I got it out, right? Thanks.

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed. The response this has gotten has truly amazed me, and I really appreciate all of the encouragement. I need it so much right now. See you next time.


	7. Chapter 6

As always, so many thanks to everyone who took the time to read and review last chapter.

Standard disclaimers apply.

* * *

The morning dawned bright, quiet, and chill. Warm and comfortable beneath his heavy blankets, Yuuri rolled onto his back and stretched luxuriously, content to wake slowly. He felt relaxed, refreshed…happy.

Yuuri turned his head to the side and felt his smile fall away.

It was very strange. When he was at home or on a journey he never had trouble with sleeping alone. But when he was in the palace…

Yuuri had come to the uncomfortable conclusion before, but always pushed it away without really thinking about it. Now he took a deep breath, summoned all his courage, and forced himself to examine the thought while staring into the peaceful, sleeping face of his fiancé.

He hadn't been able to sleep after their fight – not just because he disliked arguing with the other boy, but because Wolfram hadn't shared the bed with him. Last night, with Wolfram – still a little irritated at him, but no longer angry – back in his usual place beside him in their bed, he had slept wonderfully. It didn't matter how much the idea bothered him because it was true no matter how much he would rather believe otherwise.

Yuuri was just glad that he hadn't been stupid enough to say anything about it to Wolfram. Yesterday, his mind addled from confusingly pleasant kisses, he had felt so guilty and so desperate to settle things with the blonde that he'd very nearly been willing to say _anything_, The things he _had_ managed to say had been bad enough.

Yuuri stared at the sleeping blonde and wondered if there was any way he would have imagined the whole ordeal. Surely he hadn't really asked another boy to kiss him. Surely he hadn't _enjoyed _it. He'd managed to avoid promising to fall in love with Wolfram, but he had agreed not to complain about their engagement anymore. Now, more than ever, he was stuck.

Wolfram _was_ cute. No…it Yuuri was honest, Wolfram was nothing short of beautiful. Strong, loyal…a _great_ kisser. But he was a _boy_!

Somehow, Wolfram's gender was beginning to become a less and less powerful argument in Yuuri's mind, and that bothered him more than anything else.

His thoughts were interrupted as the body beside him shifted suddenly and he found himself unexpectedly pinned under his fiancé. Wolfram was a fitful sleeper – Yuuri often found himself being kicked, punched, or molested in the middle of the night – but as that golden blonde head nuzzled his chest affectionately, he was utterly certain that his bedmate was quite awake.

"Eh…Wolfram?"

He raised his head, golden curls falling into his bright, pretty eyes.

"Morning!" the small mazoku greeted with uncharacteristic cheer.

And then a mouth descended over Yuuri's.

"Mmpf! – 'lfram!" clawing at his shoulders, Yuuri tried his best to push him off.

"What's wrong?" Wolfram's playful pout was somewhat ruined by the threatening look in his eyes. "This is something we do now, isn't it?"

"First thing in the morning?"

Those green eyes glinted dangerously. "If I have to hold you down…" he warned.

Yuuri had the feeling that if _that_ happened, Wolfram would do a lot worse than simply _kiss_ him.

"Can't you give me a little warning first, at least?"

"What's the fun in that?" he tossed his head proudly. "I'm your fiancé, and I - !"

"Okay, okay, _fine_!" he squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the worst. He only dared to open them again when, sighing, Wolfram released him and climbed out of the bed.

"It's no fun if you look like you hate it," he complained, moving behind the dressing screen to begin getting ready for the day.

"I don't hate it, it's just…weird."

"Weird!" Wolfram snorted, voice slightly muffled as he changed clothes. "_You're_ weird!"

Yuuri thought about commenting on the other boy's penchant for frilly nightwear, then quickly dismissed the idea.

"What are your plans for this morning?"

Yuuri frowned, surprised. "You know, the usual," he answered. "Run with Conrad, have some breakfast…" Wolfram insisted on tagging along often enough that he should be familiar with the routine by now.

"So you'll be busy?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Good." Wolfram emerged from behind the folding screen dressed in his usual attire and looking quite pleased with himself.

Yuuri felt a new stirring of fear. "Why?" he asked suspiciously. "What do you have planned?" hadn't he suffered enough this week?

Wolfram's smile brightened. "Are you worried that I'm cheating?"

"No!" why did the idea make him look so happy? "I'm just scared that you've got something horrible planned!"

"I would never do anything horrible to you."

Wolfram actually looked like he thought he might be insulted. Yuuri scrambled out of bed, but found that he couldn't figure out an appropriate way to apologize when he wasn't even sure what he'd done. 'Horrible' to him was an entirely different thing than it was to his friends and retainers. They considered so many _weird_ things normal.

His fiancé's face softened before he could figure out something to say.

"Get dressed. Gwendal doesn't appreciate tardiness," he advised, heading for the door. He paused with his hand on the handle, as if waiting for something, and turned back to Yuuri with a frown. "Well?" he asked.

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to demand that your beloved fiancé come back and kiss you goodbye?"

"Eh…am I supposed to?"

"It would be nice."

Yuuri would never be able to figure out how the other boy managed to pout and look arrogant at the same time, but Wolfram did it.

"Um…" he stalled.

Wolfram sighed in exasperation and left without pressing the issue.

* * *

"Huh?" Yuuri peered at the series of notes on the study door, but was certain that he wasn't reading them right. He'd made a lot of progress learning how to read and write in the language of this world, but he knew he had a lot left to learn. He _couldn't_ be reading the notes right.

"Trying to summon your courage? It would be much easier if you'd just go on in, you wimp. Or…were you waiting for me?"

"Wolfram!"

"You _were_ waiting?" his fiancé seemed pleasantly surprised.

"No, not that," he caught hold of his arm and pulled him over in front of the study doors. "What do these notes say?"

"You should be able to read them by now," he scolded.

"Please!"

Frowning, the prince turned his attention to the notes. "Gwendal's cancelled your lessons for today," he explained, "He says you should continue your studies with me for now."

"So I didn't read it wrong! But…why would Gwendal cancel my lessons?"

"This second note is from Anissina. She says he's doing it just so that he can hide from her, but that he won't be able to escape…the third note…it basically says yes, he will escape, and the fourth says no, he won't, and the fifth…well, even a stupid wimp like you should get it by now."

Yuuri nodded absently, hardly noticing that he still had hold of his fiancé's arm, nor that Wolfram was watching him carefully. He could well understand why someone like Gwendal would feel the need to hide from someone like Anissina, but he did wonder how it could be so bad that the dark haired mazoku would resort to a note war.

"Yuuri…"

There was something in Wolfram's voice that made the young kind decidedly uneasy. Cautiously he looked to the older boy, and was not happy to find him standing uncomfortably close. The look in Wolfram's eyes was a strange one – soft, happy…maybe even loving.

"Y…you're really excited about studying alone, aren't you?" he asked uneasily.

"I have a surprise for you, Yuuri."

"A surprise?"

"What I had to work on this morning…since Gwendal won't be here, I get to give it to you early."

Yuuri wasn't quite stupid enough to ask if the other boy was sure it was a surprise he _wanted_, though he did come close. Anything that made Wolfram look so happy was bound to be uncomfortable, at the very least.

"I put it in our room…" Wolfram urged, tugging on his arm.

"Erm…"

"So he really isn't showing up?" Anissina seemed to have appeared from nowhere, but Yuuri was far too grateful to care. Her hands on her hips, she glared at the study door as if expecting it to transform into Gwendal at any moment. "That man - !" she stuck yet another note to the door – as if she thought said note would prove appropriate punishment.

Yuuri wouldn't have been surprised if she'd somehow managed to rig the paper to explode when Gwendal touched it, though, so maybe it _was_ a good punishment. Uneasily, he shifted away from the door – involuntarily placing himself closer to Wolfram, who used the opportunity to gain a better hold on him.

Anissina muttered at the door for a few more moments before she seemed to remember that she wasn't alone.

"Do _you_ know what he's hiding?" she asked sharply.

"No," Yuuri answered quickly, and shifted even closer to Wolfram. Better the danger he knew, he reasoned, then the scary redheaded woman who liked to make things go boom.

"What would he have to tell us that he wouldn't tell you?" Wolfram reasoned. As her frown deepened, he began to pull Yuuri down the hall. "We'll let him know you're looking for him!" he promised.

"How do I know you aren't protecting him?"

Wolfram began to run.

* * *

Those lovely dark eyes regarded him warily.

"Do I have to?"

"If you want your surprise."

Yuuri hesitated and Wolfram had to clamp down on his control, fighting to keep from yelling. This was supposed to be a good moment between them. He _would not_ ruin it by letting himself lose his temper.

"Yuuri…"

"Um…" he hedged.

He took his fiancé's hands and pressed them firmly over his own hips, glaring in warning. "You like it, don't you?" he asked.

"Well…yeah…but…"

"You're the king – it isn't seemly for me to keep having to push you," he glared. "Stop being such a wimp; it's embarrassing!"

"Wolfram…"

He wasn't going to be able to do it! The stupid, _wimpy_ little - !

Yuuri kissed him.

He was awkward and inexperienced and clearly embarrassed, but Wolfram thought that, as far as kisses went, this had to be one of the best in history. _Yuuri_ was kissing him.

The only thing that could have possible made it better would be if he hadn't had to fight so hard to get him to do it.

* * *

It was easy to forget that Wolfram was a boy when they kissed. He was so warm and soft and pretty, and he smelled so nice…

"How are you so good at that?" he demanded when at last he managed to pull himself away.

"I may be an 'eighty-something-year-old-virgin,'" Wolfram said with some mixture of amusement and arrogance, "But it's not as if I've never kissed anyone before!"

Without meaning for them to, Yuuri's hands tightened on Wolfram's hips. "Who…who have you been kissing?"

Wolfram blinked, eyes growing wide. "Why, Yuuri! Are you _jealous_?"

"N…no!" but it was weird to think of Wolfram, well, _with_ anyone. "But who was it?"

"Why does it matter, if you aren't jealous?"

"Why would I be jealous?"

One elegant eyebrow rose doubtfully.

Yuuri quickly dropped his hand from his fiancé's waist. "Wh…where's my surprise?" he asked, desperate for _anything_ to change the subject.

Wolfram was smiling – rarely a good sign. He walked over to the room's small desk and picked up a stack of papers that looked suspiciously like Yuuri's 'educational sketches.'

"I know they make you really uncomfortable," he said, returning, "That's weird, but you're _too_ uncomfortable to even give it serious thought. So I thought I'd make them a little more relatable…so you'd _have_ to think about them."

"And you thought I'd be happy about that?"

"You will be one day." Wolfram handed them to Yuuri, unconcerned with his protests. Looking at the carefully-altered pictures, he found that the blonde had added hair to the figure's heads and colored them in appropriately. Although they didn't look like the two of them, it was clear who they were supposed to resemble.

Plus, Wolfram had written their names out beside the figures with arrows pointing to each one.

"You're the one on the bottom?" Yuuri asked, surprised.

"Of course – you're the Maoh," he answered as if it should be obvious. "And you were the one to propose. _And_ you beat me in combat, so you earned the right…"

Wishing they could drop the conversation, Yuuri pretended to examine one of the pictures.

"That's why it's so shameful for you to make me chase you," Wolfram continued. "You have to step up and stop being such a wimp – otherwise, _I_ won't be the only one questioning your manhood!"

"Uh…right. Thanks."

"As it is, if I hadn't seen you naked so many times, I think I'd be wondering…" he trailed off thoughtfully, watching Yuuri stare at the picture. "You really like them that much?" he asked, and he sounded happy.

"Um…yeah…sure…"

"Look," he took them from him and shuffled through them for a moment before placing a new one on top. "This one is my favorite – what do you think? It looks like fun, doesn't it?"

Yuuri stared at the picture and then, against his will, he saw _Wolfram's_ face in the place of the blonde in the drawing. His breath caught.

A tap at the door covered up the sound. Greta didn't wait for permission before she opened the door and stuck her head in.

"You don't have lessons today?" she asked hopefully. Wolfram only looked disappointed about the interruption for a fraction of a moment before he smiled, assured her she was correct, and invited her to come in. Yuuri hurriedly began hiding the drawings, but one slipped from his grasp and slid to the floor.

"Why are those two boys wrestling?" Greta asked, moving to pick it up. "Are they wrestling?"

"Uh…"

Wolfram swept in quickly to get the picture before their daughter could pick it up, saving the day in the face of Yuuri's frozen reaction.

"They're only playing, Greta," he assured her, thrusting the picture at Yuuri and shooting him a warning look. "How's your new room coming along? Are we allowed to come see it yet?"

Her eyes lit up; Wolfram had succeeded in distracting her.

Yuuri could only be grateful.

* * *

tbc

Lyell - poor Gwen...

yatte! - two hours of sleep lost because of me? That kind of sounds criminal... (author is sleepy)

wolf - thanks for the long review! I'm happy you liked!

Thanks again, everyone!


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Sorry it's been so long everyone.

* * *

Wolfram's voice was a warm, quiet murmur as he read to Greta from her favorite story book. Although she was, by now, perfectly capable of reading it on her own, the boy who had once (according to what Yuuri had been told) been known as The Great Brat of Blood Pledge Castle hadn't even hesitated to agree when his daughter has asked him to read to her. He'd allowed her to climb into his lap, had put an arm around her, and was even using separate voices for the story's many characters.

Yuuri was supposed to be studying.

He couldn't fight his distraction. It was rare that he got to observe his fiancé without the other boy noticing, and he didn't want to give Wolfram false hope by being caught watching him, so he couldn't waste the opportunity.

Between the kisses and the 'altered' sketched and Wolfram's obvious joy at the progress he believed they were making, Yuuri was more confused than ever – and he needed to work out that confusion before he did something stupid and his friend got hurt.

Wolfram _really_ cared about him. Maybe he even really did _love_ him. It wasn't about his pride anymore, or appearances, or social status. It wasn't about Yuuri being the Maoh or having defeated Wolfram in battle (which he suspected had to have something to do with _why_ Wolfram had even become interested in him in the first place.) It wasn't even about a spoiled prince wanting to get his way. Wolfram _cared_ about him.

The blonde had changed so much since the day they had met. He still had days when he was spoiled, arrogant, and angry, but there was so much more to him than that. He was someone Yuuri trusted, someone he depended on. He was his friend, was always at his side – protecting him, teasing him, watching over him. His brightness and loyalty didn't falter – at least not as far as Yuuri was concerned.

Yuuri didn't love him any less than he loved any of the rest of his friends. He cared deeply about everyone inside the palace. They were _all_ precious to him.

But could he love Wolfram as something other than a friend? If Yuuri pushed away Wolfram's gender and thought of him not as a boy as a girl but as a lover – the sweet, pleasant hunger of his kisses, the warm body beside him in the bed, the green eyes always watching him, ready to point out flaws or mistakes, completely unconcerned with his status as king…

Wolfram was always with him – friend, bodyguard. He was Greta's other father, and she loved him dearly. It was getting to the point that, when Yuuri went home or on a long journey and Wolfram _wasn't_ with him, he felt almost as if he were missing a limb.

_Could_ he come to love Wolfram?

Yuuri glanced down at the pictures in his lap. Could he do _that_ with him?

He tried to picture Wolfram's face in the place of the blonde figure once again, and it caused a strange, not-unpleasant feeling in his belly. Guiltily, he looked away.

Wolfram's eyes flickered up from the storybook, and red stained his cheeks as he met Yuuri's gaze. The king had caught him during a particularly silly voice, and it took him a moment to realize that _that_ wasn't the reason why his fiancé was staring at him.

"Yuuri?" he asked.

He didn't have the opportunity to answer. A loud explosion shook the castle, rattling the windows and causing a few knickknacks to slide from their shelves and onto the floor.

Yuuri was on his feet without hesitation.

"Yuuri!"

He didn't wait for Wolfram, pulling open the door and running out and down the hall toward the source of the explosion. It didn't occur to him that he'd forgotten Morgif, and was alone, and didn't know what sort of danger he could be running in to. The only thing that mattered to him was that something bad had happened and he needed to do whatever he could to help.

"_Yuuri_!" Wolfram caught up with him, still slinging his sword around his slim, sharply angled hips. His face was pale and worried. "Yu shouldn't go running off without me!" he scolded.

"You left Greta?"

"I told her to wait in the room!"

A second blast sounded. The two began to run faster.

"What if whatever it is reaches the room?"

"It'll have to go through _us_ first!" Wolfram's tone made it absolutely clear that he was determined to do anything to keep that from happening. "Besides, she knows to run if she has to – and it would be harder to fight if I had to protect you both at once!"

Yuuri wondered if it had occurred to Wolfram for even a _moment_ not to follow him.

"What's that smell?" the young king asked, deciding not to argue.

"Something…burning?" Wolfram hesitated. "But I don't sense any flames…"

In any case, the air did seem to be slowly filling with smoke. Yuuri only wondered for a moment if they shouldn't be headed in the _opposite_ direction before it occurred to him that someone could be hurt. He began to run faster.

"Yuuri, don't just go charging in to something dangerous!" Wolfram scolded, as if he'd read his mind.

He didn't get the chance to answer. They rounded a corner, and suddenly there was nowhere else to go. Smoke was billowing from the study in dark, noxious clouds. A third explosion, smaller but none the less bone-rattling, shook the castle and the clouds became a tidal wave. Something hit him, hard, and Yuuri found himself pushed to the ground.

"Wolfram!"

"Stay down!" he ordered, as if he didn't have him pinned so tightly with his own body as to prevent the king from even having the _option_ to move. "The air will be safer down here."

Yuuri didn't care about the air. The world had gone completely dark. There was the sound of running feet, and then coughing as someone hit the wall of smoke.

"What the - ? Somebody – get a window open!"

Yuuri knew that voice. "Conrad?"

"Your majesty? Are you unharmed?"

"We're fine," Wolfram answered for him.

There was a scrambling noise, and a muttered curse as someone ran into something, and then the clattering of a window pane. Above him, Wolfram's body began to shake with coughs.

The corridor cleared slowly. Eventually, Yuuri was able to make out shapes in the smoke and then, slowly, actual forms. There was Yozak, by the window, eyes scanning the hall and a hand on the hilt of his sword. Murata wasn't far away, crouched low to the ground like Yuuri and Wolfram and attempting to filter the air through his sleeve. Even Gunter, pale and weak, had pulled himself from his sickbed at the first sign of trouble and come running, dragging his sword behind him.

"What was that?" Wolfram demanded, still coughing, as Conrad managed to get a second window open. The blonde sat up, but did not stand, so Yuuri was left with his fiancé sitting atop his backside, straddling him.

As if on cue, two figures came stumbling out of the study, covered in soot and coughing.

"What a waste!" Anissina groaned miserably, dragging the charred remains of what had once been an invention behind her.

"Anissina? Gwendal? What happened?"

"_I'll_ tell you what happened!" Gwendal snarled. "This…this _demon_ was lying in wait with that _vile_ contraption - !"

"How else was I supposed to get you when you kept running away?"

" – _forced _it onto my head - !"

" – probably wouldn't have even exploded if you'd let me set it up _properly_ - !"

" – nearly _killed_ us - !"

" – such a stupid, stubborn _man_ - !"

Yuuri was lost in the utter train wreck of the explanation-turned-argument, so it was Murata who was the first to ask: "So no one is hurt?"

"We're fine – but my poor invention - !"

"Your _invention_?" Gwendal demanded. "What about my _eyebrows_?"

"Hey, she _did_ singe your eyebrows off!" Yuuri realized.

They both stared at him, their argument halted in its tracks, and he shifted. He wasn't sure if it was their scrutiny, or the boy sitting on top of him, that made him more uncomfortable.

"Never mind that," Anissina sniffed at last, waving her hand dismissively. "I happen to have invented a _fine_ line of hair replacement products. No matter how impossible I find forgiving this man for the senseless destruction of my precious invention, the heart of a woman is strong! I will show charity and offer it without hesitation!"

"Forget it!" Gwendal growled, stalking off down the hall.

"Ungrateful beast!" she shrieked, following.

* * *

"What a mess!" Murata said mournfully as they entered the ruined study with the intent to begin clean up. The rug was little more than a scorched ruin on the floor, and entire stacks of books were reduced to black, charred towers. A large chunk of the front of the desk had been blasted into splinters. "I _hate_ messes…"

Yuuri opened one of the windows behind the desk. "Do you think they managed to destroy those 'manly love' books?" he asked hopefully.

"If they did, there are sure to be plenty more in any of the libraries," the sage assured him.

"Oh…"

"You wouldn't want your lessons to end now, anyway," Wolfram stated, a slight note of warning in his voice, as he got another window open. "You're only just now beginning to make progress, after all."

"What do you mean 'only just now'?"

"The lessons are a very old tradition, Shibuya. Properly teaching these things to high ranking individuals dates back to Shinou himself."

"S…Shinou?"

Murata gave a strange sort of smile. "The man was a good king and a brilliant general, but when it came to certain other matters, he was…completely hopeless."

"Like you, Yuuri."

"Erk…"

"Except Shinou was more than willing to be taught," Murata added cheerfully. "At least, in _this_ subject anyway. His favorite lessons were more…ah…hands on, though. I recall one time in this very room when he and I…"

"Okayyouneedtostopnow!"

"Shibuya, you are so silly!" he laughed. "It's only natural that we…"

"There can't be anything natural about something so embarrassing!"

"So you're supposed to stumble though it on your own, awkward and fumbling, and ruin the whole experience for both yourself and your partner?"

"Yes! Er…wait…"

"Greta!" Wolfram realized suddenly, interrupting the conversation.

"Greta?" what did she have to do with the discussion? Yuuri certainly didn't want his daughter involved in anything even remotely resembling the things they were talking about.

"I bet no ones gone to tell her that everything's all right!" he said. "She's probably still up in our room, frightened that the castle is under attack!"

"Oh…"

Wolfram nodded briskly, the matter settled, and began to walk to the door. "I'll go," he decided. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

"Funny how conveniently you get out of the clean up, Lord Bielefield," Murata chuckled.

They both ignored the comment.

"Thanks Wolfram," Yuuri said. He _was_ grateful – not only because the blonde had volunteered to go check on their daughter, but also because he had effectively ended the uncomfortable discussion about his special 'lessons'. There was silence in the study for several moments after his exit.

"I bet he helps you more than you really realize, doesn't he?" Murata asked at length. He was flipping through a book, checking out the extent of the damage.

"Um…I guess."

"He pushed you down to protect you from the smoke, and covered your body to shield you from any potential attack, right?"

"Yeah," he couldn't help a sheepish smile. His reactions when it came to danger were still a little slow – especially when compared to those of a trained soldier like his fiancé. Were it not for Wolfram, he probably would have stood exactly where he'd stopped, frozen in place, until he choked on the fumes.

"It's good for you that he stays so close," Murata continued with a vague smile, his attention still casually locked on the book in his hands. "Really – what would you do without him?"

"Well…first I'd probably have to buy a new bed," Yuuri answered honestly, reflecting on his inability to sleep alone while in the palace.

Murata at last looked at him, his expression confused.

"Ah…never mind." Despite himself, Yuuri felt heat fill his face.

The sage's eyes widened. "_Ooooh_. I see."

"No! No! Nothing like _that_!"

"It's suspicious if you protest too much, Shibuya."

"No, I'm not - ! I mean, we don't - !" Yuuri wasn't blushing anymore. He felt the blood drain from his face, despite his friend's teasing.

"You don't look so well, Shibuya," Murata frowned, grabbing his elbow and leading him to what remained of one of the chairs. "Should you be on your feet so much, considering your _condition_?"

"Condit...? I'm _not_ pregnant!"

* * *

The maids, busy at their usual work, had not been easy to find. They'd been out in the washroom doing laundry, and hadn't heard the explosions. When Conrad at last found them, they insisted he wait until they finish the laundry before they would come with him to help clean up the study.

"There's always so much to do!" one lamented.

"It's so inconsiderate to make extra work for us!" another sighed.

Conrad had every intention of lending his own efforts to the clean up, but when he entered the study and found Yuuri looking sickly and troubled, all thoughts of work fled completely.

"Your majesty, you don't look well," he said immediately, and felt a deeper stab of concern as his godson neglected to immediately correct him for using his title instead of his name.

"I think the air is getting to him," the Great Sage informed him with disconcerting cheer, turning a charred book sideways to get a better view of some fold-out picture. "Why don't you tale him out for a short break? I might take one myself in a little while."

Yuuri didn't argue with the suggestion. More worried than ever, Conrad led him away from the room and down to the gardens. He would have him walk in the fresh air for a while, he decided, and if the boy didn't perk up after that, then he was taking him straight to Giesela.

The walk progressed in silence, Yuuri growing paler and paler with each moment that passed. Conrad was about manually _carry_ the boy back inside when he spoke suddenly.

"Um…Conrad…can I ask you something?"

He stopped, alarmed by the tone of his king's voice. "You know you don't have to hesitate to ask me anything, Yuuri."

"Murata was teasing me…but I've been thinking…and now I'm thinking even more…I…I can't _stop_ thinking, but I'm not sure I can figure it out on my own…and I'm scared of what it means."

"Yuuri?"

"Is it just because he thinks he _has_ to, or do you think Wolfram really loves me?"

Conrad was surprised, but he didn't need to think about his answer.

"He really loves you."

Yuuri stared at him for a moment, then nodded as if that was the answer he'd been expecting.

"Love…is something which Mazoku must be very careful about," Conrad ventured when the king neglected to say anything else. "With such long lives, mistaking infatuation for love…or allowing oneself to come to care deeply for someone who will never feel the same…those are truly cruel fates. The pain of loss is something which must be carried on for centuries."

"Conrad?"

"I am sure Wolfram is well aware of the example our own mother provides," he continued quietly. "Before you, he formed few attachments in his life – having grown up watching the losses pile up in our mother's heart. Love…even friendship…wasn't worth the risk to him."

"But he let himself love me?"

"Yes."

Yurri looked down. His pallor was distressingly pale.

"Your majesty, perhaps you should sit down."

The boy shook his head. "I'm fine, I just…I'm just realizing something that I should have realized a long time ago."

"May I ask - ?"

"I can't keep things going like this. I have to make a decision – a _real_ decision. Nothing else is fair to Wolfram."

"Ah." Protests about their genders was not enough. Yuuri truly _hadn't_ pushed hard enough, if he really had wanted the engagement to end. As reluctant as he was to see his baby brother hurt, Conrad would rather see the engagement end than allow him to continue in the torturous limbo the relationship had become.

"Conrad…" Yuuri hesitated. "Can I ask you another question?"

Sure that he knew what was coming next, Conrad summoned his best smile.

"Of course, Yuuri. You can ask me anything."

* * *

tbc

No review response because it's been forever since the last update. So much love and thanks to everyone who's stuck by despite the long absence. I don't know when the next update will come, but rest assured that I haven't abandonded you.


	9. Chapter 8

"Yuuri!" Greta gave a happy laugh and dropped Wolfram's hand, skipping forward to meet her other father. "We were coming to help clean up the study!"

He knealt to catch her hug, but didn't answer. Wolfram felt his smile fall away. His fiance appeared grave and troubled – not at all like his usual self. Yuuri hugged Greta tightly, and when he pulled back even she was able to see that he was not quite himself.

"Yuuri?"

"Why don't you go on ahead, Greta?" the young king suggested quietly. "I'm sure they'll be happy to have your help."

"But…Yuuri…"

"We'll catch up," he promised, attmpting a smile. "I need to talk to Wolfram about something."

Wolfram felt a queasy, unpleasant lurch twist his gut. Yuuti looked too serious, too determined. The young Maoh looked up, meeting his eyes, and cold fear ran down the former prince's spine.

"Wolfram?" Greta asked.

"Go on, Greta," Yuuri urged, rising and giving her a gentle nudge. "We won't be long."

"But…"

"Don't…" Wolfram's voice came out a rasp. He clenched his fists and tried again. "Don't argue with your fathers, Greta."

She hesitated, but nodded. Dragging her feet, she slowly began to walk away.

It took all of Wolfram's strength to hold his ground as his fiance approached.

"Such a serious face doesn't suit a wimp like you," he teased halfheartedly.

"Wolf…this isn't easy for me."

"Don't do something stupid."

"I have to."

Yuuri raised his hand and struck Wolfram, hard, across the face.

Greta gasped, and took off at a run.

* * *

"Did I do it wrong?" Yuuri asked anxiously. He couldn't read the expression on Wolfram's face as the skin on the right side of his face slowly began to redden. With a bitter, sour taste in his mouth, he guiltily watched a single, bright bead of blood well in the corner of the blonde's mouth. "C…Conrad told me it had to be on the right side, and that I had to do it as hard as I could. H…he said it was the only way…that you'd be insulted if I tried to hold back…"

Wolfram was frighteningly pale, all except for his reddening cheek. His green eyes stared, bright and full of surprise.

Yuuri's hand was beginning to sting. Ah! Gods, he had done it too hard, hadn't he?

"W…Wolfram?"

"Take it back," Wolfram whispered, looking away at last.

"It can't be taken back, can it?"

"No one saw it. No one has to know what you've done. I'll _let_ you take it back."

"No!" Yuuri protested, a little too quickly. He clenched his hands into fists to keep them from shaking. "I decided. This is what I want. It wasn't a mistake – I _understand_ this time." Conrad had told him that it couldn't be taken back if he did it, anyway. He had made the decision, even knowing that it would be permanent if he did. "Wolf…it's okay, right?"

"Are you…are you _sure_ you understand?"

"Yeah."

"And…you're willing to accept the consequences?"

"Yeah."

Wolfram lunged at him.

* * *

"They're _fighting_!" the frantic, breathless cry was nearly overwhelmed by the sound of the study door slamming open. Greta looked wildly around the room for a moment before throwing herself at Gwendal, who had finally returned to help with the clean up. He must have finally accepted Anissina's hair-growth formula, despite his better judgement, because his eyebrows had made a sudden return. "Gwen! Stop them!"

Greta's eyes were large and fear-filled. Murata could see her small body shaking as her adopted uncle slowly closed his arms around her.

Gwendal's eyebrows, impressively thick and bushy, knit together in concern. "Fighting?" he repeated.

"Yuuri hit Wolfram!" she sobbed, burying her face against his shoulder. "I don't want them to fight! Please stop them!"

"His majesty becoming violent?" Gwendal frowned. His voice sounded suspiciously like a growl. "With _Wolfram_?"

"That certainly doesn't sound like him," Murata put down his cleaning rag and wiped his hand on his pants. "Unless lord Bielefield did something to anger him…?"

Gwendal scratched thoughtfully at an unusually stubbly chin. He rose, Greta in his arms, as she insisted that her blonde father hadn't done anything wrong.

"We might as well go check," Murata sighed. "It would be a shame if the castle had to undergo yet _more_ repairs."

Gwendal's eye twitched at the very thought. Nodding silently, he carried Greta into the hall.

"Which way?" Murata asked, following.

Face still buried in Gwendal's shoulder, Greta pointed.

They didn't have far to go. They moved quickly and without discussion, and shortly came upon the king and his fiance. They were on the ground, and Wolfram had their young Maoh pinned.

"Well!" Murata said cheerfully. "That's no fighting style _I've_ ever seen!"

Wolfram quickly wrenched away. Embarassed at being caught kissing in public, he quickly scrambled away from Yuuri – crawling backwards off of the much younger man like a scuttling crab. Both boys' faces glowed bright shades of red.

* * *

Being caught in public doing something as extreme as kissing was common, shameful, and loathsome.

But…

But Yuuri had offically renewed his proposal.

Still blushing darkly, Wolfram glanced at the dark haired Maoh. Yuuri claimed to understand what he'd done, and Wolfram was sure that Conrad would not have told his beloved godson wrong, but…but how could it _possibly_ be true?

Left cheek for the initial engagement, right for the renewal. It was a newer tradition, one which had risen up during the wars, when two lovers could find themselves seperated for months or even years at a time and would feel the need to promise themselves to each other once again. By renewing his proposal, Yuuri had basically made a promise to marry him one day, refusing to allow _anything_ to stop him. Yuuri would _never_ be able to dissolve their engagement now, no matter how much he might want to.

But Yuuri had insisted that he knew what he was doing, and he had refused to take it back.

And when Wolfram had kissed him, the dark haired boy hadn't even _hesitated_ to respond.

Being caught by everyone in such a position was more than worth the fact that Yuuri had kissed him back.

"We received word that you two were fighting," the great Sage said with a grin that was far too amused. If Wolfram wasn't so overcome with joy, he would have had issue with such an impudent expression. "It appears we were…misinformed?"

Damn the sage – he didn't even have the decency to pretend he hadn't seen anything! Wolfram rose, straightening his clothes and glaring.

"Yes," he answered stiffly. "Misinformed."

"Greta…you went and got everyone?" Yuuri asked. He stumbled to his feet gracelessly, dusting himself off along the way.

Embarassed, the girl tried to hide herself even further within the circle of Gwendal's arms.

"Oh!" she exclaimed suddenly, drawing back. "Gwen, your mustache tickles!"

"Mustache?" the statement caused all eyes to turn to Gwendal. His eyebrows now fell down to hide his eyes behind long, dark strands of hair. A beard and, yes, a mustache, had sprouted as well, and were already trailing down past his chin. His long ponytail of dark hair now hung down well past his hips.

He grunted in annoyance. Somewhere under all that hair, Wolfram thought his eldest brother was blushing.

"You took Anissina's hair growth formula?" he asked incredulously.

"…hn."

"Well," the sage chirruped cheerfully, "At least you have eyebrows again!"

* * *

The day felt like it had lasted for years. Between questioning glances from his friends – not to mention his daughter! – attempting to reason out just what he and Wolfram had been _doing_ kissing on the ground in the hallway, cleaning up the study, several attempts to shear miles of hair off of Gwendal and Anissina, and a dinner involving foreign dignitaries no one had even thought to tell him were _coming_, it seemed _ages_ before the young king could crawl into his pajamas and throw himself into bed.

Wolfram had taken Greta to bed a little while after dinner, and Yuuri knew from experience that trying to get the energetic young girl to sleep was no quick task. It was even worse if she had questions – which he was sure she did.

He was going to have at least a little time to himself, at any rate. Time for quiet, to let his mind blank from all thought, to not have to face green eyes that suddenly burned with a fierce, happy excitement, an honest, undeniable love, a bright, loyal fire.

Yuuri shook his head, throwing an arm up to cover his own eyes. He had made his decision and taken the necessary step to keep himself from changing his mind. Wolfram was too important to him, and was one of his dearest friends. He had chosen the only thing that would make Wolfram happy, and…and now that the decision was made, _Yuuri _was happy, too.

He was going to love Wolfram one day, he was sure of it. Rather than frighten him, the thought filled him with warmth and peace.

The door opened and Wolfram entered quietly. They didn't speak as the blonde moved behind the changing screen to dress for bed, or even as he casually put out the candles and climbed under the sheets with Yuuti.

"Is Greta okay?" the young king asked finally.

"Yes," Wolfram's voice was quiet, and strangely intimate in the darkness. It occurred to Yuuri that they had never really been like this before – he usually pretended to be asleep when Wolfram came to bed unless their daughter was there to sleep between them and protect his chastity. "She had a lot of questions, but now that she understands, she's happy."

"Good."

"Yuuri…" the mattress shifted beside him as Wolfram turned toward him. "I'm still not sure _you_ understand."

"I'm going to marry you one day…and it'll be okay, because before that day comes, I'm gonna love you, too. Not just as a friend, but as…as a lover, too," he blushed, and was thankful for the darkness that hid his face from his fiance.

"Are you sure…I mean, do you really think you can do that?"

He had expected Wolfram to be happy, maybe even gloating and superior, but so far the blonde had been nothing but serious.

"I'm a little scared," Yuuri confessed, "But I'm also really excited. It was the right decision."

"Wimp," Wolfram snorted. "Since when is love a decision? I bet you won't be able to do it."

Despite his words of doubt, Wolfram finally sounded happy. Yuuri laughed and, only hesitating a little, somehow managed to find Wolfram's lips in the darkness.

"I don't think it'll be very difficult at all," he promised as he pulled away.

He wasn't sure how he knew, but suddenly he was sure that Wolfram was smiling.

* * *

To be concluded

Thank you everyone who's read this and reviewed, for welcoming me so warmly into the fandom. I hope you enjoyed this first venture as much as I have, and I truly apologize for the long waits between updates that you had to endure during these last few chapters. The next chapter is just a short little epilogue. I hope to have something in the way of a sequel for this someday, but right now it's not cooperating. Nevertheless, please look for more KKM fics from me in the future. I hope to see you all again soon.


	10. Epilogue

Epilogue

* * *

Gunter was certain that he had never been half so miserable in his life as he was the day he had to pack the remaining books from his majesty's 'special lessons.'

"His majesty hates them so, after all," Conrad – the one who had suggested they end the lessons – had said with a smile. "You and Gwendal have no doubt given him a more than sufficient grounding…now that his majesty and Wolfram have reconfirmed their bond, don't you think that the…fine tuning…of his majesty's education in _that_ area should be seen to by his own fiancé?"

Gunter had _not_ thought that the fine tuning of his majesty's education should be seen to by that spoiled brat.

But Gwendal hadn't seen it that way.

The thought caused him to send a resentful look to the mazoku in question. It only made him feel a little better to see the state the eldest prince was now in. Despite all attempts, they had yet to find a way to counteract Anissina's special hair growth formula and every hair on both her and Gwendal's bodies – _every last hair_ – had continued to grow until there was nothing left to see of either of them _but_ hair.

The two must have reminded his majesty of some unfortunate family member, because any time the young king saw either of them he would laugh and refer to them as "cousin It."

"Stop your moaning and your sighing!" the ball of hair seated at the desk snapped. It was impossible to tell for sure whether or not Gwendal was glaring, but it was a safe bet that he probably was.

"Our time together was so short!" Gunter protested, a sob catching in his throat.

"Because you nearly bled yourself to death with your indecent thoughts!"

"Oh! Your majesty!" he wailed. "If only I could have guided you as I'd _dreamed_ - !"

A hair-covered first slammed down hard on the desk, interrupting him and sending papers swaying dangerously. "I said stop that!" Gwendal snarled.

It was _so_ difficult to take him seriously when he looked like that!

"But my particular eccentricities are part of my charm!" Gunter pouted.

Gwendal grunted. One hairy hand reached up to rub at what could be the bridge of his nose.

"Do you have a headache?"

Gwendal growled something intelligible. "In any case," he said at last, "You'll still be teaching his majesty's _regular_ lessons."

"Yes…" Gunter glanced down at the books in his hands and heaved a wistful sigh. "But I was _so_ looking forward to _these_ lessons…"

Gwendal didn't comment. He may have been staring at Gunter – though it was hard to tell. In the silence that followed, they could hear voices arguing out in the hall – the king and his fiancé, on their way to the study for lessons.

"Stop that! Wolfram! I can't walk with you hanging all over me!"

"Then just let me kiss you, damn it!"

"But someone might see!"

"Stop running!"

"Ack!"

Two bodies hit the door. It fell open and the two boys came tumbling inside, caught in a most compromising position.

And somehow, even through all that hair, it was obvious that Gwendal was glaring. The two scrambled quickly to their feet and hurried to their chairs.

With a wistful sigh, Gunter set aside the last of the books and resigned himself to a return to boring lessons on history, geography, etiquette, and writing.

* * *

fin


End file.
